U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher market open on Friday after better-than-expected earnings from Alcoa Inc. overshadowed oil prices back above $61 a barrel, but investors awaited key monthly jobs data for clues to the economy's health, Reuters reported . A day after the London bomb attacks that killed more than 50 people, investors appeared confident that economic growth would be little affected. European shares raced higher to lift the FTSE 100 back above its level just before the bomb blasts. Shares of Alcoa, a Dow component, jumped 3 percent to $26.85 on the Inet electronic brokerage network from Thursday's closing bell. The world's largest aluminum producer posted the best quarterly profit in its history. S&P 500 futures rose 3 points, above their fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 28 points, while Nasdaq 100 climbed 6 points. U.S. non-farm payrolls data, due at 8:30 a.m. was expected to show that 188,500 new jobs were created in June, up from 78,000 added in May. "Alcoa did pretty well yesterday, and the jobs numbers will be important," said Tom Hougaard, market strategist at financial betting firm City Index in London. "A lot of people were saying that the outlook for the second half of 2005 is going to be murky," Hougaard added. "That is why so many people are going to look at the jobs number to decide whether they should take money off the table or if they should double up their bets and speculate for higher prices for the rest of the year." Stock market gains could be capped as oil prices rise toward record highs Friday, and investors worry about the impact of energy costs on consumer spending and corporate profits. --mor 1435 Local Time 1135 GMT
