Stock Futures Fall Flat on Mixed Jobs Reading

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U.S. stock-index futures were little changed Friday after better-than-expected jobs gains were offset by a sliding labor force participation rate.

Today's Markets

As of 8:36 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 13 points, or 0.08%, to 16501, S&P 500 futures gained 0.5 point, or 0.03%, to 1879 and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 2.7 points, or 0.09%, to 3591.

Wall Street is looking to close the week out with gains of about 1%.

The Labor Department said the U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in April, surging past the 210,000 jobs Wall Street expected, marking the biggest increase since January 2012. The jobless rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 6.3%, its lowest level since September 2008. The labor force participation rate -- which gauges the proportion of the working-age population employed or seeking employment -- fell to 62.8% from 63.2% in March.

There is also a report due out later on the U.S. factory sector.

In corporate news, AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) rebuffed a $106 billion buyout offer from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), saying it "substantially" undervalues the company. The brewing takeover battle is the latest in a string of high-profile M&A activity this year.

Elsewhere, U.S. crude oil futures rose 25 cents, or 0.25%, to $99.67 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline advanced 0.23% to $2.945 a gallon. Gold climbed $3.40, or 0.26%, to $1,287 a troy ounce.