US Stock Futures Up Ahead of Jobs Data

US stock futures are slightly higher this morning, as investors are awaiting December nonfarm payrolls data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 10 points to 12,341.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 0.70 points to 1,273.80. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 5.50 points to 2,345.00. US stocks closed mostly higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.02% to 12,415.70, the S&P 500 index rising 0.29% to 1,281.06 and the Nasdaq 100 index gaining 0.81% to 2,669.86. Data on non-farm payrolls will be released at 1330 GMT. Commercial Metals Company

is estimated to report its Q1 EPS at $0.16 on revenue of $2.05 billion. PriceSmart Inc

is expected to report its Q1 EPS at $0.58 on revenue of $472.51 million. Greenbrier Companies Inc

is projected to report its Q1 EPS at $0.35 on revenue of $404.41 million. Robbins & Myers Inc

is estimated to report its Q1 EPS at $0.68 on revenue of $242.13 million. Family Dollar Stores Inc

reported an 8% rise in its FQ1 net income. However, the company's revenue missed analysts' estimates. Alcoa Inc

announced its plans to cut its global smelting capacity by 12%. RF Micro Devices Inc

lowered its fiscal-third quarter revenue forecast. Ruby Tuesday Inc

swung to a loss in its recent quarter. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index surged 0.43%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.35%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.81% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.56%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 1.1587%, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.70% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.76%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.1712% and India's Sensex gained 0.07%. Nymex crude-oil futures gained $0.48 to $102.48 a barrel in electronic trade. The euro fell 0.05% versus the dollar to trade at $1.2783. However, the US dollar gained 0.04% against the Japanese yen to trade at 77.15 yen.