U.S. stock index futures indicated a higher open Friday as investors digested a weaker-than-expected August jobs report.
The U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs last month, with the unemployment rate coming in at 4.9 percent.
Economists were forecasting 180,000 nonfarm jobs were created in August, and the unemployment rate was expected to fall to 4.8 percent according to Thomson Reuters. The report follows July's 255,000 jobs, and comes after two robust months of hiring removed concerns about an especially weak labor market in May.
Dow futures were up about 50 points following the report's release, while S&P and Nasdaq futures gained 6.75 points and 20 points, respectively. Futures on the three major indexes pointed to a slightly lower open about 10 minutes before the report's release.
Investors were closely eyeing the jobs report as they looked for more clues about when the Federal Reserve may raise rates. Market expectations for a rate hike in September were just 12 percent following the report.
"The hullaballoo around payrolls is for once justified, with Fed Vice Chair Fischer suggesting it would be a critical factor for September 21 rate decision, even if the wisdom of central bankers putting so much store on a single month's reading of a data series that is horrendously erratic, and subject to large revisions, has to be questioned," Marc Ostwald, strategist at ADM Investor Services, said in a note Friday morning.
Other data due Friday include factory orders, which will be released at 10 a.m. ET and there will be a speech at 1 p.m. ET by Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker.
U.S. stocks closed mostly flat Thursday as investors digested a slew of economic data ahead of Friday's key jobs report. The Dow Jones industrial average closed about 15 points higher, after briefly falling more than 100 points.
On Friday, European stocks were mostly higher and Asian markets finished the session mixed.
—CNBC's Fred Imbert and Patti Domm contributed to this report.