US pre-open: Stocks seen slightly higher ahead of non-farm payrolls

US futures pointed to a slightly firmer open on Wall Street as investors eyed the release of the all-important non-farm payrolls report.

At 1105 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were 0.2% higher, while Nasdaq futures were up 0.3%.

At the same time, oil prices retreated. West Texas Intermediate was down 0.7% at $41.64 a barrel, while Brent crude was down 0.9% at $43.90.

Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG, said: “Today’s US jobs report may be too early to be make or break for the Fed, yet anticipation is as high as ever as we come in off the back of two extreme readings for the US payrolls. The decision to remove reference to international risks from the Fed’s statement means the pressure is purely on the US economy as the driver of monetary policy. The divergent monetary policy paths of the UK and US would look even starker should we see a 200+ figure today, bringing the potential for a 2016 Fed rate hike and BoE rate cut ever more likely.”

The payrolls report will be released at 1330 BST, along with the unemployment rate for July, which is expected to show a drop to 4.8% from 4.9% the previous month. Average hourly earnings are forecast to have ticked up 0.2%.

On Thursday, investors on both sides of the Pond were digesting the Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates to a record low of 0.25%, expand the asset purchase programme by £60bn and launch a new £100bn funding scheme for banks.

On the corporate front, security software company FireEye tumbled in pre-market trade after its second-quarter earnings missed expectations and it cut its outlook for the year.

Video game developer Zynga was also in the red after its third-quarter revenue outlook released late on Thursday disappointed.

On the upside, Kraft Heinz rallied after its second-quarter earnings on Thursday beat expectations.

Virgin America and Liberty Media were among the companies slated to report on Friday.