WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing
to a sharply higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to extend the rally seen
over the course of the previous session.

The futures surged to new highs following the release of a closely watched Labor
Department showing employment in the U.S. increased by much less than expected
in the month of April.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 175,000 jobs in
April after surging by an upwardly revised 315,000 jobs in March.

Economists had expected employment to jump by 243,000 jobs compared to the spike
of 303,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The report also showed the unemployment rate crept up to 3.9 percent in April
from 3.8 percent in March. The unemployment rate was expected to remain
unchanged.

Treasury yields have shown a steep drop following the release of the report,
with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note tumbling below 4.5 percent.

The data combined with the decease by treasury yields is likely to help further
offset concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The reaction to the jobs data adds to the positive sentiment previously
generated by a surge by shares of Apple (AAPL), as the tech giant is spiking by
7.2 percent in pre-market trading.

Apple is rallying after reporting better than expected fiscal second quarter
results and announcing a $110 billion stock repurchase.

Stocks fluctuated early in the session on Thursday before moving sharply higher
over the course of the trading day. The major averages all showed strong moves
to the upside after ending Wednesday's trading narrowly mixed.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but
remained firmly positive. The Dow jumped 322.37 points or 0.9 percent to
38,225.66, the Nasdaq surged 235.48 points or 1.5 percent to 15,840.96 and the
S&P 500 advanced 45.81 points or 0.9 percent at 5,064.20.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as traders seemed to breathe a
sigh of relief following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on
Wednesday.

Traders have recently expressed some concerns the Fed's next monetary policy
move could actually be an interest rate hike rather than a cut, but Fed Chair
Jerome Powell post-meeting remarks seem to have alleviated those worries.

'Not only did Powell choose not to give a hawkish press conference, he took
great pains to be dovish,' said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for
Independent Advisor Alliance. 'At every turn he looked on the bright side of
data - from higher-than-expected inflation to recent lower-than-expected
economic growth - and dismissed any suggestions that the Fed was pivoting from
rate cuts to rate hikes.'

He added, 'He explicitly said he believes their next move would be a cut - even
if it will take longer to get to that cut than they believed a short time ago -
and set the bar extremely high for rate hikes.'

Earlier in the day, stocks saw considerable volatility as traders reacted to the
latest batch of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing
a surge by labor costs in the first quarter of 2024.

The Labor Department said unit labor costs soared by 4.7 percent in the first
quarter following a revised unchanged reading in the fourth quarter.

Economists had expected labor costs to shoot up by 3.2 percent compared to the
0.4 percent increase that had been reported for the previous quarter.

'Productivity growth wasn't strong enough to significantly mitigate the rise in
wages last quarter,' said Nationwide Financial Markets Economist Oren Klachkin.
'The strong rise in unit labor costs is another in a string of recent data
points indicating that inflation pressures remain relatively high.'

A separate Labor Department showed initial jobless claims came in unchanged last
week, while a Commerce Department report showed the U.S. trade deficit narrowed
slightly in March.

Transportation stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session,
resulting in a 2.5 percent spike by the Dow Jones Transportation Average.

Avis Budget (CAR) and C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) skyrocketed on the day
after reporting their quarterly results.

Substantial strength also emerged among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by
the 2.2 percent surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Retail stocks also showed a significant move to the upside as the day
progressed, driving the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index up by 2.0 percent.

Housing, computer hardware and brokerage stocks also saw considerable strength,
while pharmaceutical stocks bucked the uptrend.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are climbing $0.54 to $79.49 a barrel after edging down $0.05
to $78.95 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after slipping $1.40 to $2,309.60 an
ounce in the previous session, gold futures are advancing $16.50 to $2,326.10 an
ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 152.07 yen versus the
153.64 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the
euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0802 compared to yesterday's $1.0725.

Asia

Asian stocks rose broadly on Friday, with tech shares leading the charge
following Apple's quarterly earnings beat and massive buyback program. Regional
trading volumes were thin due to market holidays in mainland China and Japan.

The dollar index lingered near a three-week low ahead of key U.S. jobs data
report later in the day that might point to a slower but still strong pace of
hiring in April.

Gold drifted below $2,300 per ounce and headed for its first back-to-back weekly
losses in more than two months amid fears of higher-for-longer U.S. interest
rates.

Oil prices rose but were set for another weekly loss amid easing Middle East
tensions and signs of weak U.S. demand.

Hong Kong's tech-heavy Hang Seng Index rallied 1.5 percent to 18,475.92,
extending gains for the ninth consecutive session as China stepped up efforts to
spur an economic rebound. Property developers surged on expectations of more
stimulus measures.

Seoul stocks edged lower, with the Kospi falling 0.3 percent to 2,676.63. Top
portal operator Naver jumped more than 3 percent after reporting
better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.

Australian stocks closed higher for a second straight session, with
rate-sensitive banks and real estate stocks pacing the gainers ahead the Reserve
Bank of Australia's monetary policy decision on May 7.

The benchmark S&P ASX 200 Index climbed 0.6 percent to 7,629, while the broader
All Ordinaries Index settled 0.6 percent higher at 7,897.50.

Gold miners suffered heavy losses, with Evolution Mining and St Barbara plunging
5.6 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively.

Macquarie Group shares fell 2.2 percent after the investment bank reported
annual earnings that missed estimates.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index ended up 0.5 percent
at 11,938.08, notching its second consecutive week of gains.

Europe

European stocks have moved higher on Friday after European Central Bank
policymaker Yannis Stournaras said he sees three rate cuts in 2024.

Stournaras reportedly said in an interview that three rate cuts in 2024 is the
more likely scenario after considering recent growth and inflation data.

A slew of encouraging earnings updates and signs of improvement in U.K. services
growth also helped underpin investor sentiment.

The U.K. service sector expanded at the quickest pace in nearly a year, spurred
by a renewed strengthening of order books, final data from S&P Global showed.

The services purchasing managers' index rose to 55.0 in April from 53.1 in
March. That was also above the flash score of 54.9.

Investors shrugged off separate data showing that French industrial production
unexpectedly declined in March after rebounding in the previous month.

While the French CAC 40 Index has climbed by 0.6 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100
Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.5 percent.

In corporate news, German household and personal products business Henkel AG &
Co. KGaA has surged after raising its sales and earnings outlook for 2024.

Credit Agricole, France's second-biggest listed bank, has also jumped after
posting a forecast-beating 55 percent jump in first-quarter net profit.

Rival Societe Generale has also soared as it backed guidance after reporting a
smaller-than-expected 22 percent slide in first-quarter net income.

Anglo American has also jumped in London after reports that commodities group
Glencore was considering a rival bid for the mining giant.

Trainline, which runs a digital platform for buying rail and bus tickets, has
also spiked after annual earnings rose and the company announced it would start
buying back more shares over the course of 12 months.

Publishing company Future has also shown a strong move to the upside after
appointing Sharjeel Suleman as its CFO.

On the other hand, shares of Daimler Truck Holding have slumped after the
company reported a decline in first quarter global sales.

U.S. Economic Reports

After reporting stronger than expected job growth over the past several months,
the Labor Department released a report on Friday showing employment in the U.S.
increased by much less than expected in the month of April.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 175,000 jobs in
April after surging by an upwardly revised 315,000 jobs in March.

Economists had expected employment to jump by 243,000 jobs compared to the spike
of 303,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The report also showed the unemployment rate crept up to 3.9 percent in April
from 3.8 percent in March. The unemployment rate was expected to remain
unchanged.

At 10 am ET, the Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release its
report on service sector activity in the month of April.

The ISM's services PMI is expected to inch up to 52.0 in April from 51.4 in
March, with a reading above 50 indicating growth.

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams and Chicago Federal Reserve
President Austan Goolsbee are due to participate in a panel before a 'Getting
Global Monetary Policy on Track' event hosted by the Hoover Institution at
Stanford University at 7:45 pm ET.

Stocks In Focus

Shares of Amgen (AMGN) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the
biotechnology company reported first quarter results that exceeded analyst
estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Payment services provider Bock (SQ) is also likely to see initial strength after
reporting better than expected first quarter results.

Meanwhile, shares of Cloudflare (NET) are seeing significant pre-market weakness
after the cloud services provided reported first quarter results that beat
expectations but provided disappointing full-year revenue guidance.

Online travel company Expedia (EXPE) may also come under pressure after
reporting better than expected first quarter revenue but lowering its full-year
revenue forecast.



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