The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a sharply higher opening on Friday, with sentiment getting a solid boost from the U.S. non-farm payrolls report that showed that the economy added much more jobs than had been anticipated. Additionally, the unemployment rate ticked down- both serving as confirmation that the job market is up on its foot and could gain steam in the months to come. The hopes should lead to buying, although the overbought levels of the markets and the ongoing concerns about the sovereign debt situation in Europe may temper some of the optimism.

U.S. stocks moved about in a listless manner on Thursday before closing on a mixed, as caution prevailed ahead of Friday’s jobs report. Traders reacted to mixed catalysts, including a positive jobless claims report and some mixed corporate earnings.

The Dow Industrials receded 11.05 points or 0.09 percent at 12,705, while the S&P 500 Index added 1.45 points or 0.11 percent at 1,326 and the Nasdaq Composite Index ended 11.41 points or 0.40 percent higher at 2,860.

Of the Dow components, 18 stocks closed lower, while one stock closed unchanged and eleven stocks advanced.

Airline, biotechnology, oil service and gold stocks were among the best performers of the session.

On the economic front, initial jobless claims fell to 367,000 in the week ended January 28th from 379,000 in the previous week. The four-week average fell to 376,000 from 378,000, while continuing claims were down 130,000 for the week ended January 21st.

Commodity, Currency Focus

Crude oil futures are rising $0.74 to $97.10 a barrel after declining $ to $96.60 a barrel on Thursday. Gold is down $7.20 at $1,750.10 an ounce after firming up by $9.80 to $1,757.30 an ounce.

Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 76.58 yen compared to the 76.22 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3126 compared to yesterday’s $1.3144.

Asia

The major Asian markets ended mixed, as the U.S. non-farm payrolls kept traders on the tenterhooks. Japan's Nikkei 225 average languished below the unchanged line for much of the session, snapping a 3-session winning streak and closing down 44.89 points or 0.51 percent at 8,832.

Australia's All Ordinaries closed at 4,320, down 13.10 points or 0.30 percent, as traders feared to take fresh positions ahead of the U.S. jobs data, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended up 17.53 points or 0.08 percent at 20,757.

In a deal news, billionaire Li-Ka-Shing's Hutchinson's Whampoa announced an agreement to buy Orange Austria in a 1.3 billion euro-deal.

Europe

The major European markets are trading with moderate gains, with traders remaining optimistic despite the debt imbroglio of the region and the overbought levels of the markets.

In another deal news, U.K.-based Misys confirmed that it is in talks with Switzerland-based Temenos for a possible merger with the latter. Misys had earlier failed to clinch a deal with U.S.-based Fidelity National Information Services (FIS).

Revised service sector activity indicator for the eurozone released by Markit Economics showed that the sector saw expansion in January, although at a slightly slower pace than initially estimated. Meanwhile, the corresponding indicator for the U.K. showed that the headline business activity index rose 2 points to 56, the highest reading since March 2011. Economists had forecast the indicator to have declined to 53.3.

U.S. Economic Reports

Payrolls expanded by much more than economists had predicted in January, while the unemployment rate declined. The U.S. economy added 243,000 jobs in January, according to statistics released by the Department of Labor on Friday. Economists had expected an increase of 135,000



The report showed that the unemployment rate came in at 8.3 percent. Economists were looking for the jobless rate to hold steady at 8.5 percent



The unemployment rate continued to tick downward, falling to 8.5 percent in December, although the November unemployment rate was revised up to 8.7 percent from the 8.6 percent initially reported.

The Commerce Department is due to release its report on factory goods orders for December at 10 am ET. Economists estimate a 1.5 percent increase in orders for factory goods.



Durable goods, which make up the bulk of factory goods showed a better than expected 3 percent increase in December compared to the previous month. Excluding transportation orders, orders were still up 2.1 percent. More importantly, core capital goods orders, which exclude defense aircraft and parts, rebounded by 2.9 percent in December. Shipments of this category of goods, which is directly plugged into GDP calculations, improved 2.6 percent.

In November, factory goods as a whole experienced a 1.8 percent increase in orders. Shipments of this category of goods rose marginally and unfilled orders were up a steeper 1.3 percent.
The Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release the results of its non-manufacturing survey at 10 am ET. The non-manufacturing index is likely to show a reading of 53.3 for January.



The service sector survey for December showed that the sector continued to expand at a slightly faster rate. The non-manufacturing index rose to 52.67 in December from 52 in November. The business activity index remained flat at 56.2 and the new orders index edged up 0.2 points to 53.2, while the order backlogs index slipped 2.5 points to 45.5. The employment index, though up 0.5 points to 49.4, suggested a contracting job market.

Stocks in Focus

In corporate news, Weyerhaeuser (WY) reported fourth quarter adjusted earnings of $77 million or 14 cents per share, higher than $52 million last year. Revenues were about in line with estimates.

Polaris (PII) announced a 64 percent increase in its regular quarterly dividend to 37 cents per share, effective in the first quarter 2012.
Cymer (CYMI) reported better than expected fourth quarter results, while it issued weak revenue guidance for the first quarter.

Thor Industries (THO) reported preliminary sales of $596.40 million for its second quarter, ahead of the consensus estimate.

Coldwater Creek (CWTR) promoted CFO Jim Bell to the newly created role of COO.

Video game software makers THQ, Inc. (THQI) and Take-two Interactive (TTWO) after peer Electronic Arts (EA) released solid holiday quarter results. THQ posted weaker than expected results for its third quarter and issued a bleak forecast. Take-two reported third quarter earnings that exceeded estimates, while it slashed its forecast for the year below the consensus estimate.

Acme Packet's (APKT) fourth quarter earnings were below estimates.