BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. stock futures rose Friday ahead of the before-the-bell release of the government's monthly employment report, which is expected to show a gain of 1 million nonfarm jobs in April. Signs of a recovering labor market in Thursday's Covid pandemic-era-low jobless claims pushed the Dow up nearly 1% to another record close. (CNBC)

A similar gain in the S&P 500 carried that index to within 10 points of last month's record close. The Nasdaq rose 0.4%, breaking a four-session losing streak, but still more than 3.5% away from April's record close. Ahead of Friday's open on Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down over 2.3% for the week. The Dow and S&P 500 were up nearly 2% and almost 0.5%, respectively, for the week. (CNBC)

The expected growth of 1 million jobs last month comes after 916,000 nonfarm payroll additions in March. The Labor Department is set to issue those April numbers at 8:30 a.m. ET. In a recovering economy on the back of increasing Covid vaccinations, more and more businesses are reopening and looking to hire. The nation's unemployment rate is seen dipping to 5.8% in April. (CNBC)

The April employment report is being widely watched by investors because of the Fed's pledge to keep its extraordinarily easy monetary policy, including near zero interest rates, in place until the job market heals and inflation starts picking up. However, many traders believe those things are already happening and the Fed might have to make adjustments sooner than it's been forecasting.

* Fed warns about potential for ‘significant declines’ in asset prices (CNBC)