U.S. Stock Futures Rise After Strong Jobs Report

By Saumya Vaishampayan 

U.S. stock futures turned higher after December's employment report showed the U.S. posted its strongest year of job growth in 15 years.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 11 points, or 0.1%, to 17837. S&P 500 futures added three points, or 0.2%, to 2058 and Nasdaq-100 futures rose 14 points, or 0.3%, to 4247. Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict moves in the stock market after the opening bell.

The Labor Department said the U.S. added 252,000 jobs in December. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected a gain of 240,000 nonfarm payrolls. Revisions showed employers added 50,000 more jobs in October and November than previously estimated. The unemployment rate fell to 5.6%, its lowest level since June 2008.

Bond prices also got a boost. The 10-year Treasury note's yield was recently at 1.986%, compared with 2% before the data.

While job growth was higher than forecast, there were no signs of no wage inflation, which bolsters the case that the Fed will be patient in raising rates. Average hourly earnings fell from the prior month and were up only 1.7% from a year earlier.

The dollar pared losses against the yen and euro.

"This wasn't dramatically good, and wasn't dramatically bad," said Brian Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management. "It doesn't change anything about the outlook for the Fed, but it's not bad for the outlook for the overall economy."

Stocks have had a bumpy start to 2015. The S&P 500 fell 2.7% in the first three sessions of the year, marking the worst start to a new year since 2008. Then, a rally in stocks carried the S&P 500 into positive territory for the year, gaining nearly 3% in the two sessions ended Thursday. Many investors believe the bull run in stocks has more room to run, as an improving economy and growing corporate profits push stocks higher.

Earlier, stock futures were negative, taking a cue from Europe. Declines in banking stocks helped drag the Stoxx Europe 600 down 0.6%.

In commodity markets, crude-oil futures fell 0.8% to $48.40 a barrel. Gold futures added 0.4% to $1213.00 an ounce.

Among individual stocks, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. reported a 5% decline in third-quarter profit. Sales fell below the Wall Street consensus. Shares declined 4.5% premarket.

Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management LP has launched a proxy fight against DuPont Co. to add four directors to the company's board. DuPont shares added 0.6% in premarket trading.

Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at [e-mail]

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