US Jobs Growth Slows in April as US Equity Futures Rise Pre-Bell

US equity futures were up before Friday's opening bell as traders digested the April employment report.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.8%, S&P 500 futures increased 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.6%.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmarks North Sea Brent crude up 0.3% and US West Texas Intermediate crude up 0.4%, but were set for a weekly drop amid easing tensions in the Middle East and signs of surging supply in the US. Government data released earlier in the week showed a 7.3 million-barrel weekly increase in US crude stockpiles.

Nonfarm payrolls, released at 8:30 am ET, rose 175,000 in April versus estimates for a 240,000 gain and March's 315,000 surge, while the unemployment rate increased 10 basis points for the month to 3.9% compared with estimates for no change at 3.8%.

The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index, due at 10 am ET, is seen coming at 52.0 in April following a 51.4 reading in March.

In other world markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1.5% higher, while the Japanese and Chinese markets were closed for holiday. UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.6%, and Germany's DAX index gained 0.5% in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, shares of Apple AAPL were 7% higher pre-bell after the iPhone maker reported fiscal Q2 earnings and sales that topped analysts' estimates. Amgen AMGN shares surged 13% on a Q1 results beat. El Pollo Loco Holdings LOCO shares increased 20% after the company posted higher fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.

On the losing side, Sprout Social SPT shares slumped 30% after the company reported Q1 revenue that missed analysts' expectations. Marin Software MRIN shares fell 22% after the company reported lower Q1 revenue.