Wall Street to extend gains; NFP data eyed

US stock indexes were set for a higher open on Friday pre-session hours ahead of the release of fresh labor market data and as traders continued to prepare for a Fed meeting this month.

On Thursday, Wall Street top three indexes ended in green territory, with the Dow Jones industrial average adding more than 130 points, supported by Goldman Sachs.

The S&P 500 was 0.8 percent higher by the end of yesterday’s session, reaching out new all-time highs thanks to the performance of financial, healthcare and material components.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: +135.53 / +0.65% / 21144.18
• Standard & Poor’s 500: +18.26 / +0.76% / 2430.06
• Nasdaq Composite: +48.31 / +0.78% / 6246.83

According to the latest report from ADP, the US private sector added 253,000 jobs in May, above expectations of 185,000 jobs and a previous reading of 174,000. These figures came in anticipation of today’s official nonfarm payrolls.

In a separate report, weekly jobless claims rose to 248,000, more than the forecasted 239,000. Markit’s manufacturing PMI for May came in at 54.9, while ISM’s version of the index was at 52.5. Both indexes were on top of expected values of 52.5 and 54.5 respectively.

Attention was also directed to crude oil inventories from the US Energy Information Administration. The agency said crude stockpiles fell by 6.428m barrels in the week ended May 26. Gasoline supplies dropped by 2.86m barrels against an estimated draw of 1.1m barrels.

Today, market participants will focus on Average Hourly Earnings (Forecast: 0.2%), Nonfarm Payrolls (Forecast: 185K), Participation Rate (Forecast: 62.9%), Private Nonfarm Payrolls (Forecast: 173K), Trade Balance (Forecast: -46.10B) and Unemployment Rate (Forecast: 4.4%) as of 12:30 GMT. Baker Hughes oil rig count is scheduled at 17:00 GMT.

Employment data is expected to play a huge role on expectations for the next interest rate decision of the Federal Open Market Committee at the June 13-14 policy meeting. Fed funds tracked by CME Group’s FedWatch tool show chances for a rate move above 95 percent.