US stock-index futures rise before unemployment rate

US stock futures advanced, signaling the Standard & Poors 500 would try to erase yesterdays losses, as investors stay focused on unemployment rate data with speeches from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other central bank officials also expected.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14 points to 15,581, at 11:54 a.m., London time. While contracts for the S&P 500 index rose 3.3 points, or 0.2% to 1,748.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index added 7.5 points, or 0.2%, to 3,327.

Non-farm payrolls are expected to rise 100,000 in October, compared with a gain of 148,000 in the prior month, while the unemployment rate is expected to inch up to 7.4% from 7.2%, according to economists surveyed by MarketWatch. The data will be released at 8:30 a.m. EDT (13:30 p.m. in London).

“If anything, the reaction could be a bit asymmetric,” said strategists at Danske Bank in a note, cited by Wall Street Journal. “If the outcome is weak, the shutdown will get the blame. If strong, it may signal an underlying pickup in the job market. We look for only 115k in job growth in October, slightly below consensus of 125k, but uncertainty is high.”

At 9:55 a.m. EDT consumer-confidence data from the University of Michigan will be released.

In corporate world, Twitter most likely would remain in focus for investors, after surging more than 70% on its debut. In pre-market trading, Twitter added nearly 1%.

Walt Disney shares slumped 1% in pre-trade although company showed profit up 12% in the fiscal fourth-quarter, boosted by revenue growth across all segments.

Groupon Inc. shares fell more than 5% in late trading Thursday, after third-quarter revenue disappointed forecast.

Priceline.com may increase share gains seen in the late session after it posted a rise in third-quarter profit.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. is projected to report a loss of 3 cents a share in the fiscal second quarter, according to a consensus survey by FactSet.

Cablevision Corp. is forecast to post third-quarter earnings of 11 cents a share.