US pre-open: Stocks seen up after Apple beat, ahead of payrolls

US stock futures were pointing to a firmer open on Friday following better-than-expected results from tech giant Apple, as investors eyed the latest non-farm payrolls report.

At 1215 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.5%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were 0.6% higher.

Sentiment got a boost after Apple posted second-quarter earnings per share of $1.52 and revenue of $94.84bn, ahead of forecasts for $1.43 and $92.96bn, as iPhone sales rebounded.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Having been beset by supply chain issues in China, there will be relief at the rebound in sales of handsets.

"Group-wide sales did slump for a second consecutive month, as sales of Mac computers and iPads suffered, but at least the drop off was not as bad as feared."

On the macro front, the payrolls report is due at 1330 BST, along with the unemployment rate and average earnings.

Payrolls are expected to have risen by 180,000 in April, while the unemployment rate is expected to have picked up to 3.6%.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "Having seen the Federal Reserve hike by another 25bps rate hike earlier this, a strong number today would keep the prospect of another rate hike in June, although it would need to be a bumper number to do that.

"There is a school of thought after Wednesday that the Fed is now on pause, and the only real question is not whether we saw another hike, but when we see the first rate cut.

"A strong, or in line number today, along with next week’s April CPI, will shape the discussion here, but for now, even with the current banking turmoil, the timing of when the Fed starts cutting is likely to shape market direction from here on in."