US Stock Futures Down As Investors Await Jobs Data

US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting payrolls figures. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 30 points to 12,208.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index fell 3.50 points to 1,308.90. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 6.75 points to 2,319.25. US stocks closed the day mostly lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average dipping 0.34% to 12,248.55, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index dropping 0.12% to 1,312.94 and the NASDAQ composite index rising 0.15% to 2,773.31. May's nonfarm payrolls and unemployment rate will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Diamond Foods Inc

swung to a Q3 profit and lifted its projections for the year. DMND reported its quarterly profit at $7.7 million, or $0.34 per share, versus a loss of $4.3 million, or $0.22 per share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding one-time items, DMND would have earned $0.52 per share in the latest quarter. Its revenue climbed to $223 million from $138.7 million. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.48 per share on revenue of $216.6 million. Diamond Foods lifted its adjusted earnings forecast for the year to a range of $2.48 to $2.52 per share, from a range of $2.45 to $2.51 per share. Analysts expected earnings of $2.52 per share for the year. SAIC Inc

reported its fiscal first-quarter profit at $131 million, or $0.36 per share, up from a year-ago profit of $125 million, or $0.32 per share. Its revenue surged to $2.69 billion from $2.63 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.33 per share on revenue of $2.71 billion. VeriFone Systems Inc

lifted its yearly financial forecast and reported upbeat quarterly results. PAY reported its fiscal second-quarter earnings at $25.2 million, or $0.27 per share, versus $20.2 million, or $0.23 per share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding one-time items, PAY's earnings would have been $0.46 per share. Its revenue surged to $292.4 million from $240.7 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.43 per share on revenue of $285 million. Wal-Mart Stores Inc

is all set to hold its annual shareholders meeting in Bentonville, Arkansas. Most Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dipping 0.66%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.35% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.84%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.31% and India's Sensex dropped 0.60%. European markets were mixed today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has dropped 0.29%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.12%. The dollar index (DXY) fell 0.01% to 74.33. The July silver contract dropped $0.43 to $35.77 an ounce. Read more