Investing.com – U.S. futures were higher on Friday as investors shrug off trade worries and look ahead to economic data.
The S&P 500 futures was up 12 points or 0.44% to 2,717.50 as of 6:44 AM ET (10:44 GMT) while Dow futures increased 124 points or 0.51% to 24,541.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures rose 23 points or 0.33% to 7,000.00.
Investors will pay close attention to the nonfarm payrolls data, due at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT), for any clues on possible interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The jobs data is often seen as an indicator of the health of the U.S. economy and used by the Fed for one of its key objectives, employment.
Trade worries remained on the back of investors minds after the U.S. went ahead with tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from the European Union, Canada and Mexico. Canada and Mexico retaliated on Thursday while the European Union is also expected to respond, prompting fears of a full-blown trade war.
Athletic wear firm Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ:LULU) was among the top gainers in pre-market trading, surging 7.07% after its earnings results beat estimates. Social media firm Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) rose 2.02% after its share price was upgraded to $17 by Citron Research and semiconductor Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) was up 1.67%.
Elsewhere, automobile firm Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) slipped 2.80% after it announced a partnership with self-driving car firm Waymo while software firm Workday Inc (NASDAQ:WDAY) fell 3.14%.
In Europe stocks were up. Germany’s DAX rose 110 points or 0.88% while in France the CAC 40 increased 63 points or 1.17% and in London, the FTSE 100 was up 50 points or 0.66%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 gained 38 points or 1.12% while Spain’s IBEX 35 rallied 175 points or 1.85%.
In commodities, gold futures were down 0.14% to $1,298.30 a troy ounce while crude oil futures fell 0.45% to $66.74 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.07% to 93.88.