Wall Street set for higher open after strong jobs report

7.30am: Wall Street set for higher open US stock futures pointed higher Monday following a strong jobs report that showed US hiring surged in March and ahead of fresh data that is expected to show a solid recovery in the US services sector. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average implied an opening gain of about 200 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures also traded in positive territory. Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst, Asia Pacific, at OANDA, said: “The price action suggests that the shorter-term market was positioned for a blowout payrolls number, which for once, played the game. US PPI will be closely monitored at the end of the week, as will US Initial Jobless Claims.” The Labor Department reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 916,000 in March, the highest since August 2020, while the unemployment rate fell to 6%. Traders returning from the long holiday weekend focus on more commentary out of the Federal Reserve, with the Federal Open Market Committee's latest meeting minutes and a speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell in the latter part of the week. “US equity markets have been schizophrenic of late, even as they consolidate at record highs. Trading has been dominated by cyclical/2020-darlings tail-chasing on a rolling daily basis,” noted Halley. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve officials have said they are looking for recovery in the jobs market, alongside sustained 2% inflation, before changing interest rates or altering bond purchases. However, a faster-than-anticipated vaccine rollout and additional stimulus spending have raised bets that the Fed will have to raise interest rates in the next three years. Anu Gaggar, senior global investment analyst at Commonwealth Financial Network, said: “Faster jobs and wage growth can have an upward pressure on prices and test the Fed’s patience with easy monetary policy.” Two things to watch out for on Monday: The Institute for Supply Management’s services index for March, due at 10am ET, is expected to show activity is accelerating in the US industries hardest hit by shutdowns Private data firm IHS Markit will also release results from its March survey of purchasing managers in the US services sector at 9:45am