U.S. futures jump with employment data ahead; Dow Jones up 0.90%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a sharply higher open on Friday, as markets awaited the release of highly anticipated U.S. employment data later in the day, amid uncertainty over the future of the Federal Reserve's stimulus program.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.90% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.88% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.95% jump.

Investors were awaiting Friday’s closely watched U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for further clues on when the Fed may decide to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month stimulus program.

Data on Wednesday showed that the U.S. private sector added 188,000 jobs in June, more than expectations for an increase of 160,000.

Financial stocks were expected to be active, following a broad rally among European lenders. In pre-market trade, Bank of America shares gained 0.39%, while Citigroup jumped 1.36%.

The auto sector was also likely to be in focus, after Tesla Motors said it received sufficient orders for its new Model S sedan to double the number of electric cars in Hong Kong, sending shares up 3.46% in early trading.

The company, headed by billionaire Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, has forecast it will sell 21,000 units of the Model S this year and is preparing to begin deliveries to Europe and Asia in the second half.

Elsewhere, health care providers were slated to remain in the spotlight after the Obama administration said earlier in the week that it wouldn't require employers to provide health insurance for their workers until 2015.

The decision therefore delayed a key provision of the healthcare reform law by a year.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mostly lower. The EURO STOXX 50 slid 0.36%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.29%, Germany's DAX shed 0.27%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.28%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rallied 1.89%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 2.08%.