Futures Pointing To Sharply Higher Open On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Stocks are likely to move to the upside at the start of trading on Friday following the release of a better than expected jobs report. The major index futures are currently pointing to a sharply higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 148 points.

The upward momentum for the markets comes following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing stronger than expected job growth in the month of June.

The report said non-farm payroll employment increased by 195,000 jobs in June, matching the revised job growth seen in May.

Economists had been expecting employment to increase by about 160,000 jobs compared to the addition of 175,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Despite the stronger than expected job growth, the unemployment rate came in unchanged at 7.6 percent. The unemployment rate had been expected to edge down to 7.5 percent.

While the strong job growth is likely to generate optimism about the economic outlook, the report does not seem to have raised concerns about the Federal Reserve's stimulus program due to the unemployment rate holding steady.

The Fed has indicated that it will maintain its asset purchase program at the current pace until the unemployment rate drops closer to 7 percent.