U.S. Stock Futures Rise as Jobless Rate Declines
U.S. stock futures rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index heading for the first weekly gain in three, after data showed the nation added 114,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell.
Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. jumped at least 0.9 percent to lead advances among financial companies. Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) slid 21 percent after cutting its forecast for full- year bookings. Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) declined 0.6 percent as Oppenheimer & Co. downgraded the shares.
S&P 500 futures expiring in December rose 0.5 percent to 1,462.4 at 8:42 a.m. in New York. The equity benchmark has rallied 1.4 percent this week as U.S. economic reports topped estimates. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 51 points, or 0.4 percent, to 13,549 today.
“On balance the report looks pretty decent,” Mark Luschini, who helps manage $54 billion as chief investment strategist for Philadelphia-based Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, said in a phone interview. “The September number was pretty close to being spot on consensus and it came with an upwards revision to the August number. The market reaction is positive on a report that’s solid even if it’s unspectacular.”
