Nov 1 (Reuters) - Stock indexes were poised for a higher open on Friday, as Amazon's strong earnings mitigated Apple's weaker China sales and investors weighed a sharp reduction in U.S. jobs growth in October.
Amazon.com (AMZN.O), soared 6.9% in premarket trading, as strong retail sales increased its profit above Wall Street estimates.
Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL.O), dropped 1.7% despite beating quarterly sales forecasts, as investors worried about a decline in China sales.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 12,000 jobs last month, much smaller than economists' estimate of an increase of 113,000 jobs, amid disruptions from hurricanes and strikes by aerospace factory workers.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, in-line with expectations and reassuring investors that the labor market remained on a solid footing ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
"From an investment standpoint, this doesn't really change much in terms of what's expected from a Fed standpoint or thoughts around the slowing economy. We have to look past this month's data and see what comes out in the following months, when there's much less noise," said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management.
After the data was released, investors largely stuck to bets that the central bank would cut rates by 25 basis points in November as well as December.
Treasury yields, which had dropped on Friday, have risen to nearly four-month highs in recent weeks, pressuring equities, as traders speculate the Fed would adopt a less dovish stance.
U.S. manufacturing PMI data is due later in the day.
The Nov. 5 U.S. election is also on investors' minds, with many analysts predicting a close race and some uncertainty over the final outcome. The Fed's November meeting kicks off the following day.
U.S. stocks fell across the board Thursday after Microsoft and Meta platforms highlighted growing artificial intelligence costs that could hit their earnings.
Unsurprisingly, equity volatility has risen in recent days, with the CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX), trading at a more than three-week high.
S&P 500 E-minis were up 29.5 points, or 0.51%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis rose 102.25 points, or 0.51% and Dow E-minis added 217 points, or 0.52%
All three major indexes were on track for weekly declines, with the S&P 500 (.SPX), and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), set for their worst week in eight.
Intel (INTC.O), jumped 6.8% after a better-than-expected revenue forecast and lifted other chip stocks, with Nvidia (NVDA.O), rising 1.2%.
Cost warnings on AI-related infrastructure from Meta Platforms (META.O), and Microsoft (MSFT.O), saw the Nasdaq (.IXIC), tumble 2.7% in its worst day in nearly two months.
Shares of Boeing (BA.N), rose 2.4% after a union of striking workers endorsed an improved contract offer that includes a 38% pay rise, with members expected to vote on Monday.
Oil majors rose, with Exxon Mobil(XOM.N), adding 2.2% and Chevron(CVX.N), up 2.1% after both companies beat third-quarter profit estimates on higher oil output.
Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported third-quarter results, 77.2% have beaten analysts' expectations, according to LSEG data as of Thursday, roughly in line with the past four quarters' 79% average.
Reporting by Lisa Mattackal and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai