Stock Futures Extend Gains on Jobs Data

FOX Business: The Power to Prosper

U.S. stock-index futures rallied deeper into the green on data showing the U.S. economy added more jobs than expected last month.

Today's Markets

As of 9:06 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures jumped 117 points to 12947, S&P 500 futures gained 14.3 points to 1377 and Nasdaq 100 futures rallied 32.5 points to 2651.

The European Central Bank disappointed Wall Street on Thursday after it failed to take decisive steps to stem the debt crisis that has been ongoing for more than two years. The mood was more upbeat on Friday, however, as all eyes turned to the U.S. Labor Department and traders scooped up assets that were beaten down in the prior session.

The U.S. economy added 163,000 jobs in July, better than the 100,000 gain Wall Street was expecting. The unemployment rate rose 0.1-percentage point to 8.3%, compared with forecasts that it would hold steady. Digging into the report, the labor force participation rate, which provides a look at what proportion of the population is either employed or actively seeking employment, fell 0.1-percentage point to 63.7%.

The labor market, which has hit stall speed recently, has been a major focus in New York and Washington, D.C.The Federal Reserve has repeatedly noted its concern over the slowing employment growth. The central bank has said it will keep interest rates at historic lows until late 2014, and renewed its Operation Twist program, but hasn't yet been willing to unleash another round of quantitative easing.

There has been talk across world trading desks that such a move could come in September, but many analysts say it will hinge on data that are received, including the employment report.

Elsewhere, oil prices rallied. The benchmark crude oil contract traded in New York jumped $1.02, or 1.2%, to $88.15 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline rose 0.06% to $2.871 a gallon.

In metals, gold gained $8.70, or 0.55%, to $1,599 a troy ounce.

On the corporate front, Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) posted a fiscal fourth quarter core profit of 82 cents a share, which excludes 8 cents of non-core charges. Analysts were expecting the Dow component to earn 77 cents. Sales came in at $20.2 billion, slightly shy of the $20.26 billion expected.

Foreign Markets

The Euro Stoxx 50 soared 2.9% to 2328, the English FTSE 100 rallied 1.5% to 5746 and the German DAX jumped 2.3% to 6759.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 sold off by 1.1% to 8555 and the Chinese Hang Seng slipped 0.12% to 19666.