US Stock Futures Up As Investors Await Payrolls Data

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting payrolls data. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 39 points to 12,291.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index gained 3.20 points to 1,324.20. Nasdaq 100 futures added 9 points to 2,345.25. US stocks closed mixed on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.25% to 12,320, the S&P 500 index declining 0.18% to 1,326 and the Nasdaq 100 index gaining 0.15% to 2,781. The Labor Department will release nonfarm payrolls report at 8:30 a.m. ET. The unemployment rate is expected to rise up to 9% from 8.9%. The ISM report on manufacturing for March will be released after the opening bell. Many central-bank officials, including Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser and New York Fed President William Dudley, will speak on Friday. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc KKD reported a Q4 loss at $1.5 million, or $0.02 per share, versus a profit of $500,000, or $0.01 per share, in the year-earlier period. The company's sales increased about 6% to $91.7 million. However, analysts were estimating a profit of $0.04 per share on sales of $93 million. US car makers, including Ford Motor Co F will report sales for March. Christopher & Banks Corp CBK issued weaker-than-expected FQ4 projections. The retailer projects to post a loss of $0.47 to $0.51 per share on sales of $99.6 million. However, analysts were expecting a loss of $0.31 per share on sales of $100 million. Xyratex Ltd XRTX reported its Q1 adjusted net income at $7.5 million, or $0.24 per share, versus $29.4 million, or $0.96 per share, in the year-ago quarter. The company's revenue surged 13% to $360.5 million. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.27 per share on revenue of $374.86 million. Omeros Corp OMER reported disappointing late-stage clinical trial results for its OMS103HP drug, which is developed to help patients recover from ankle surgery. The company reported that the drug failed to meet the pre-specified endpoints of its late-stage clinical trial. Positive sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.65%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.86%. Most Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.48%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.53% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 1.35%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.17%. The US dollar gained 0.4% against the Japanese yen to 83.66 yen. The dollar index (DXY) gained 0.33% to 76.11. Nymex crude oil for May delivery rose $0.33 to $107.05 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. June gold futures dropped 0.33% to $1,435 an ounce on Globex. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.