LIVE MARKETS-Wall Street points up with stimulus, jobs intertwined

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WALL STREET POINTS UP WITH STIMULUS, JOBS INTERTWINED (0905 EST/1405 GMT)

S&P e-mini futures EScv1 are pointing to a higher open on Friday as Democrats pushed ahead with their plans for approving COVID-19 stimulus and data showed January jobs growth was slightly below expectations and prior month revisions were on the bleak side.

Indeed, U.S. employment growth rebounded slightly less than expected in January and job losses the prior month were deeper than initially thought, strengthening the argument for additional relief money from the government to aid the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. nL1N2KA34D

While rising wages and average work week indicated to Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute that things may not be as bad as they seem, he also pointed to a need for government support.

"Job growth slowed markedly in January, and the previous two months’ revisions were also to the downside. It is worth noting that the unemployment and underemployment rates both fell, however some of that may be due to a decrease in the participation rate," said Samana.

"These data points show that the labor market has softened in the past few months and the need for fiscal stimulus remains high."

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on Friday on final passage of a budget resolution that would allow Democrats in Congress to approve President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package without Republican support, a Democratic leadership aide said. nL1N2KB170

Here is your premarket snapshot:

(Sinéad Carew)

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FOR FRIDAY'S LIVE MARKETS' POSTS PRIOR TO 0900 EST/1400 GMT - CLICK HERE: L8N2KB47I