09:12 AM EDT, 10/04/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US stocks look set to open higher in Friday's trading session as employment data released earlier this morning came in stronger than investors expected.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were rising 0.65%, S&P 500 futures were up 0.9%, and Nasdaq futures were climbing 1.3%.

Nonfarm payrolls for September rose far more than expected, climbing to 254,000 in September when forecasters expected 147,000, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate, which was expected to remain unchanged at 4.2%, declined to 4.1% in September.

Oil prices were moving higher, but down from earlier gains, with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude rising 0.46% and 0.42% respectively.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei gained 0.22%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 2.82%, and China's Shanghai Composite soared 8.06%. Meanwhile in Europe's early afternoon session, the UK's FTSE 100 was off 0.05%, while Germany's DAX was up 0.76% and France's CAC was rising 1.16%.

In equities, shares of Phoenix Motor ( PEV ) soared 155% in Friday's premarket session after it reported late Thursday that it swung to a profit and took in record net sales in Q1. Beneficient (BENF) shares jumped 81% after it said Friday that expects approximately $126 million of temporary equity to be reclassified as permanent equity on its balance sheet as of Sept. 30. Shares of noco-noco (NCNC) surged 57% after a 2.5% gain the previous session. JBDI's ( JBDI ) stock rose 33% following a 2.8% loss on Thursday. And shares of Vicinity Motor ( VEV ) advanced 31% after losing 1.2% the previous session.

On the losing side, shares of Spirit Airlines ( SAVE ) plunged 36% after the Wall Street Journal reported that the airline is discussing terms of a potential bankruptcy filing with bondholders. Cemtrex ( CETX ) shares tumbled 26%, adding to a 51% loss the previous session. Shares of Elevai Labs ( ELAB ) dropped 19% after a 55% gain on Thursday. Shares of Avinger (AVGR) fell 18%, erasing most of Thursday's 24% gain. And Solaris Energy Infrastructure ( SEI ) shares also fell 18%, following a 1.7% gain the previous day.