U.S. Stock-Index Futures Gain as Investors Await Payrolls Report

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U.S. stock-index futures advanced, with the Standard & Poor™s 500 Index hovering near a record, as investors await payrolls data that may show employers added jobs at a faster pace last month.

Desarrolladora Homex SAB soared 17 percent in late New York trading after the Mexican homebuilder said it is in loan talks with billionaire Sam Zell. Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. fell 5.2 percent in early trading after the operator of dry-bulk cargo ships reached a pact with lenders for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in June gained 0.2 percent to 1,886.5 at 10:46 a.m. in London. The equity benchmark gauge climbed 1.7 percent this week, the most in almost two months, and reached a record on April 2. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts added 25 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,526 today.

Employers picked up the pace of hiring in March for a third month, economists project a report will show at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Payrolls rose by 200,000 after a 175,000 gain in February. The jobless rate probably fell to 6.6 percent from 6.7 percent, the forecasts show.

Copy Source : Bloomberg