U.S. Stocks May See Further Upside Following Jobs Data

Following the notable rebound seen over the two previous sessions, stocks may see further upside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.3 percent.

The futures turned positive following the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched report on employment in the month of February.

While job growth in February came in much stronger than expected, the report also showed notable downward revisions to job growth in the two previous months.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment surged by 275,000 jobs in February, while economists had expected employment to jump by 200,000 jobs.

However, the report also said job growth in December and January was downwardly revised to 290,000 and 229,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 167,000 jobs.

The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent in February from 3.7 percent in January. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to come in unchanged.

The downward revisions to job growth in the two previous months combined with the increase in the unemployment rate may add to recent optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

Treasury yields initially jumped following the release of the report but have since moved lower, extending a recent downward trend.

Extending the rebound seen during Wednesday’s session, stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Thursday. The major averages further offset the notable pullback seen to start the week, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 bouncing back to record intraday highs.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 241.83 points or 1.5 percent to 16,273.38, ending the day just shy of last Friday’s record closing high, while the S&P 500 managed to set a new record closing high, jumping 52.60 points or 1.0 percent to 5,157.36. The narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, rising 130.30 points or 0.3 percent to 38,791.35.

In overseas…