Futures extend gains after May jobs data

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures extended gains on Friday after data showed a slight cooling in average hourly wages and a small rise in unemployment in May, reinforcing bets that the Federal Reserve will skip raising interest rates again in June.

The Labor Department’s closely watched employment report, showed unemployment rate at 3.7% in May against a forecast of 3.5%, while hourly average wages were at 0.3%, down from a 0.4% in April, highlighting a cooling in wage inflation.

Non-farm payrolls increased by 339,000 jobs vs. expectations of 190,000 additions.

Fed funds futures trading still showed an over 70% probability that the Fed will hold interest rates steady at its June 13-14 policy meeting. [FEDWATCH]

At 8:38 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 203 points, or 0.61%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 23.25 points, or 0.55%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 54 points, or 0.37%.

Moments before the data, Dow e-minis were up 138 points, or 0.42%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 17.5 points, or 0.41%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 65.25 points, or 0.45%.

(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)