Futures Briefly Pare Gains After Jobs Report

U.S. stock index futures briefly pared their gains after a report showed more jobs were lost in October than expected.

U.S. employers cut 240,000 jobs from nonfarm payrolls in October, much more than the 200,000 expected. The unemployment rate also blew past forecasts, jumping to 6.5 percent, compared with expectations of 6.3 percent.

Today's bounce follows a two-day selloff following the U.S. presidential election that saw the Dow log its worst two-day point drop on record. But the selloff was probably overdone, market experts said, with one predicting a six-day recovery rally for the S&P 500.

Shares in Toyota Motor tumbled more than 16 percent Thursday when its stock resumed trade after the world's biggest auto maker shocked investors with a warning that profit this year would hit a 13-year low. The stock was indicating higher by about 4 percent in premarket trading.

Elsewhere in the industry, Ford Motor reported a wider-than-expected loss of $1.31 a share.

Sprint Nextel

, the No. 3 U.S. mobile service, posted a quarterly loss and weaker revenue as customers fled to rival services.

Sprint reported a net loss of $326 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with a profit of $64 million, or 2 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

In the tech sector, Microsoft dismissed speculation it might still be interested in a takeover of Internet firm Yahoo .

Qualcomm , a supplier of cell-phone chips and technology licenses, gave a weaker-than-expected outlook Thursday after the bell, underscoring a slowdown in mobile phone sales.

Asian stocks closed mixed, recouping heavy losses earlier in the day, while European stocks were higher.

© 2012 CNBC.com