By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amruta Khandekar
(Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open higher on Friday after data showing a rise in the unemployment rate and moderation in wage gains boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates by the middle of this year.
U.S. job growth accelerated in February, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 275,000 jobs after rising 229,000 in January, according to revised estimates. Economists expected an increase of 200,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate, however, rose to 3.9% in February after holding at 3.7% for three straight months, while wage growth slowed to 0.1% on a monthly basis.
"The key here is the wage growth (more) than anything else, which came in very modest and well below expectations," said Paul Nolte, senior wealth adviser at Murphy & Sylvest.
"This feeds more into the inflation narrative than the strong jobs data."
Traders now see an 81.1% chance of the central bank cutting interest rates in June, compared to 74.4% before the numbers, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.
At 08:42 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 22 points, or 0.06%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 12.25 points, or 0.24%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 30.5 points, or 0.17%.
The benchmark S&P 500 index closed at a record high on Thursday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was "not far" from gaining the confidence that inflation is falling sufficiently to begin cutting interest rates.
AI darling Nvidia gained 2.6% premarket in premarket trading, outperforming megacap growth and technology peers.
Chip stocks such as Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) rose more than 1% each.
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) slipped 0.6% after the tech company's full-year forecast failed to impress investors.
Shares of Marvell Technology shed 5.7% after it forecast first-quarter results below market expectations on soft demand in its wireless infrastructure, consumer and enterprise markets.
Gap climbed 8.6% after the retailer beat Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter results, buoyed by strong demand on improved product offerings at its Old Navy and namesake brands during the holiday season, and lower markdowns.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) eased 3.9% as quarterly sales fell short of estimates due to tepid demand for higher-margin goods.