US Stock Futures Up As Investors Await Jobs Report

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting nonfarm payrolls for February. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 32 points to 12,271.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index gained 2.80 points to 1,332.50. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 5 points to 2,376.75.

US stocks closed higher, with the blue-chip Dow index surging 1.59%, or 191.40, to close at 12,258 on Thursday.

The jobs report for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on factory-orders for January will be released at 10 a.m. ET.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd MRVL reported its FQ4 profit at $222.9 million, or $0.33 per share, versus $204.8 million, or $0.31 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding one-time items, Marvell's earnings came in at $0.40 per share. The company's revenue increased 7% to $900.5 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.42 per share on revenue of $925.3 million.

Novell Inc NOVL reported a FQ1 loss at $17.9 million, or $0.05 per share, versus a profit of $20.2 million, or $0.06 per share, in the year-ago period. The company's adjusted income came in at $0.07 per share. The company's revenue dropped to $190.7 million from $202.4 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.07 per share on revenue of $198.6 million.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc WMT lifted its annual dividend by 21% to $1.46, from $1.21.

Positive sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has advanced 0.53%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.57%.

Asian markets ended in the positive territory, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 1.02%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 1.14% and China's Shanghai Composite rising 1.36%.

April Nymex crude futures rose $0.57 to $102.48 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. However, gold futures gained $2.70 to $1,419.10 an ounce on Globex.

The US dollar rose about 0.3% versus the Japanese yen. The euro traded at $1.3972 against the dollar.

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