US STOCKS-Futures bounce on bargain search; data eyed
* Investors hedge their bet ahead of payrolls data
* Search for bargains lifts financials, techs early
* Obama set to meet with economic advisers
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK, Nov 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday as a slide of the past two sessions prompted investors to scour the market for beaten-down shares, but trading was cautious before the government's report on October non-farm payrolls.
A further thaw in credit markets also offered some early support.
But economists fear the decline in the jobs number could be even larger than the consensus forecast for a 200,000 fall, after data earlier this week showed October's private sector job losses at their highest in six years and the number of new weekly jobless claims stuck at high levels.
Goldman Sachs revised its forecast to predict losses of 300,000. The jobs data is set for release at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT).
Even so, as Thursday capped the market's worst two-day slide since October 1987, investors cautiously trod back into weakened sectors, including financials and technology shares, with Apple Inc (AAPL.O) up 1.4 percent at $100.51 before the bell, albeit in light volume.
"People are hedging their bets, hoping that through some miracle the jobs report might not be bad as expected," said Andre Bakhos, president of Princeton Financial Group in Princeton, New Jersey. "If the data should fail to please, you will see gains disappear."
S&P 500 futures SPc1 rose 8.8 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures DJc1 climbed 73 points, and Nasdaq 100 NDc1 gained 20.75 points.
Shares of auto makers are among stocks to watch, with General Motors Corp GM.N due to post quarterly results after the market open. Ford Motor Co (F.N) posted a $2.98 billion quarterly operating loss, and shares in world No. 1 automaker Toyota Motor Corp plunged after it warned this year's profits would hit a 13-year low. For details, see [ID:nN07546963]
The chief executives of U.S. auto companies sought a $50 billion federal bailout on Thursday to survive a financial crisis blamed on a worsening economy and the "near collapse" in demand for cars.
In other news, Barack Obama will meet with economic advisers to discuss his transition to the White House and holds his first news conference as U.S. President-elect.
Those he would talk with include former Treasury secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers, former Labor secretary Robert Reich, Google Inc (GOOG.O) chairman Eric Schmidt, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and billionaire Warren Buffett. [ID:nN06291242 (Editing by Kenneth Barry)
