Stock futures rose on Friday as investors awaited the highly anticipated jobs report to assess the pace of the economic recovery.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 83 points, or 0.2%, to 34,525.
Futures for the S&P 500 tacked on eight points, or 0.2%, to 4,202.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite index added 27.75 points, or 0.2%, to 13,625.25.
For the week, the major stock indexes were mixed as of Thursday's close. The Dow is up about 2%, the S&P 500 had gained 0.49% and the NASDAQ had shed more than 2.3%.
The U.S. Labor Department will release April's jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect one million payrolls to have been added last month and the unemployment rate is expected to have fallen to 5.8% from 6%.
April's job report will carry extra importance as the Federal Reserve maintains a zero rates policy and other easing measures in the face of a recovering economy. As marketplace concerns about inflation brew, some on Wall Street believe an exceptionally strong jobs market report could prove an early sign for the Fed that conditions are finally returning to healthy.
In early trading Friday, stocks linked to the reopening of the economy were gaining. Shares of Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line holdings were up about 2% each in premarket trading. Expedia Group was also higher.
Shares of Roku rallied more than 8% in pre-market trading after the streaming company blew past expectations with its first-quarter results.
Roku posted adjusted earnings of 54 cents per share, compared to an estimated loss of 13 cents per share. Revenue rose 79% from a year ago and exceeded expectations.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 eked up 0.1%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index eased back 0.1% Friday.
Oil prices docked 23 cents to $64.48 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices raced $2.70 to $1,818.40 U.S.