US Stock Futures Rise; All Eyes On Jobs Report

US stock futures gained in early pre-market trade, ahead of nonfarm payrolls data. Data on nonfarm payrolls and consumer spending will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Reuter's/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index will be released at 9:55 a.m. ET, while data on consumer credit will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 56 points to 15,873.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 7.10 points to 1,791.10. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 11.50 points to 3,490.25.

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.52%, London's FTSE 100 index surging 0.45% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.29%. German DAX 30 index gained 0.51% and French CAC 40 Index rose 0.10%. Asian markets ended mostly higher today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumped 0.81%, China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.44%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.13% and India's BSE Sensex jumped 0.18%.

Analysts at Piper Jaffray downgraded Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance

from “overweight” to “neutral.” The target price for Ulta Salon has been lowered from $129 to $113. Ulta Salon's shares closed at $118.00 yesterday.