US Stock Futures Up; All Eyes On Payroll Data

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings nonfarm payrolls data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 65 points to 13,862.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 5.30 points to 1,498.50. Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 10.25 points to 2,735.25. US stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.36% to 13,860.58, the S&P 500 index falling 0.26% to 1,498.11 and the Nasdaq 100 index declining 0.01% to 3,142.13. Data on nonfarm payroll employment for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Markit flash PMI manufacturing index for January will be released at 8:58 a.m. ET. The Reuters/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for January will be released at 9:55 a.m. ET. The ISM manufacturing index for January and construction spending data for December will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Mattel MAT is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $1.15 per share on revenue of $2.29 billion. Exxon Mobil XOM is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $2.00 per share on revenue of $115.22 billion. Merck & Co MRK is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.81 per share on revenue of $11.48 billion. Tyson Foods TSN is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.40 per share on revenue of $8.61 billion. Chevron CVX is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $3.04 per share on revenue of $68.64 billion. Newell Rubbermaid NWL is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.42 per share on revenue of $1.52 billion. Brown & Brown BRO is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.27 per share on revenue of $286.45 million. Legg Mason LM is projected to report a Q3 loss at $3.23 per share on revenue of $677.45 million. Franklin Resources BEN is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $2.38 per share on revenue of $1.90 billion. Wynn Resorts WYNN reported a drop in its fourth-quarter profit. McKesson MCK reported downbeat fiscal third-quarter earnings and narrowed its profit forecast for the fiscal year. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.38%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.69%, German DAX 30 Index rose 0.72% and French CAC 40 Index surged 0.86%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.47%, China's Shanghai Composite surging 1.41% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rising 0.83%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.03% and India's Sensex dropped 0.57%. Japanese unemployment rate surged to 4.2% in December. However, economists were expecting jobless rate at 4.1%. The dollar index (DXY) dropped 0.28% to trade at 78.99. The dollar climbed 0.45% versus the Japanese yen to trade at ¥92.13. The euro gained 0.51% against the dollar to trade at $1.3648.