US pre-open: Futures in the green ahead of NFP report

Wall Street stocks were in the green ahead of the opening bell on the first day of Q2 trading and March's all-important nonfarm payrolls report.

As of 1220 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.46%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were 0.47% and 0.53% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 550.46 points lower on Thursday after the US president confirmed plans to start daily releases from the country's strategic oil reserves.

In focus ahead of the bell was news that the UK will reportedly join the US in releasing more oil from its reserves as part of a joint effort to lower prices and reduce reliance on Russian supplies. According to Bloomberg, an announcement was likely to come before the end of the day via the International Energy Agency. However, sources declined to say the size of the release, citing market sensitivity and the need for countries to act in concert.

US president Joe Biden said on Thursday that his plans to release 1m barrels of oil a day for six months would lay the foundations for the US to achieve energy independence from foreign suppliers. He also said that he expects allies to release as many as 50m barrels from their own stocks.

Also drawing an amount of investor attention, the two-year and 10-year Treasury yields inverted for the first time since 2019, a potential sign that the US economy is headed for a recession. However, the inverted yield curve can not predict exactly when a recession will occur, with history indicating it could be over a year away.

On the macro front, March's nonfarm payrolls data will be released at 1330 BST, while last month's ISM manufacturing PMI and February construction spending numbers will follow at 1500 BST.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Friday.