U.S. stock index futures climbed Friday after a better-than-expected monthly government jobs report, the final version ahead of the presidential election.
Employers added 171,000 jobs in October, while the unemployment rate inched up to 7.9 percent, according to the Labor Department. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected non-farm payrolls rose by 125,000, an increase on September's 114,000 gain. The jobs report is the last issued before the presidential election next Tuesday. (Read More: Tuesday's Election Still Good to Go)
The government will also release factory orders for September at 10 am ET. Economists polled by Reuters forecast a 4.6 percent rise in orders, after a 5.2 percent fall in August.
Stocks jumped more than 1 percent across the board Thursday as Wall Street cheered a batch of better-than-expected economic reports and as the East Coast continued to recover in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Early estimates of the economic impact of Hurricane Sandy put the total loss between $30 billion and $50 billion, making it one of the costliest storms in U.S. history. (Read More: Most Expensive Hurricanes in US History)
Meanwhile, Verizon said its fourth-quarter operating results could be significantly affected by Hurricane Sandy.
