MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures were trading modestly higher on Friday, cautiously rising on hopes that key jobs figures due later on Friday will support the view of an economic recovery. S&P 500 futures rose 2.6 points to 943.10 and Nasdaq 100 futures added 1.25 points to 1,494.25. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 41 points. U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday as the trend of surging commodities prices was renewed, fueling gains for companies such as Alcoa (AA 10.69, +0.62, +6.16%) and Chevron (CVX 69.79, +1.53, +2.24%) , while an analyst note spurred buying in the financial sector and broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 74.96 points to 8,750.24, marking its fifth increase in six sessions. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 24.10 points to 1,850.02, while the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 10.70 to 942.46. The S&P 500 was helped by a 4% gain in its financial sector. The big focus for Friday's markets will be the nonfarm payroll data, scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Economists are expecting the data will show the economy lost another half-million jobs in May, the smallest job loss since October, but still one of the worst in 35 years. A report on initial jobless claims released Thursday showed first-time jobless claims fell 25,000 in the past two months to an average of 631,000. "Pressure on manufacturing payrolls will persist in the coming months in the wake of the Chrysler and GM bankruptcies. Still, the April decline of 539,000 was the smallest since October 2008 and the three-month pace should continue to show that job destruction has slowed versus the rapid drops posted at the end of the fourth quarter and in the first quarter," said economists at Tullett Prebon in a note to clients. The unemployment rate is expected to rise to 9.2% which would be the highest since Aug'83. Citigroup (C 3.57, +0.18, +5.31%) shares could be in focus after The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is pushing for a shake-up of the group's top management, threatening the future of Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit. The newspaper cited people familiar with the matter. Wal-Mart Stores (WMT 50.87, -0.01, -0.02%) may also be a focus, as the group is due to hold its annual shareholder meeting on Friday. Positive sentiment flowing from U.S. markets carried over into Asia and Europe on Friday. Asia markets finished mostly higher for the day on optimism about a rebound in global demand, though trading was muted as investors awaited the U.S. employment data. Mining shares were a focus globally after Rio Tinto (RTP 182.68, -6.94, -3.66%) walked away from a deal with Aluminum Corp. of China, announced it was selling over $15 billion worth of shares and unveiled a joint venture with BHP Billiton (BHP 57.04, -0.45, -0.78%) . European shares climbed, led by banks and oil producers, and a 10% gain for BHP. The British pound was under pressure on Friday as Prime Minister Gordon Brown began a reshuffle of his cabinet in a last-ditch effort to hold onto power. The dollar was mixed versus the euro and the yen in quiet trade ahead of the nonfarm payroll data. Gold futures were down $4.10, while oil futures were down 6 cents. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond was up 2 basis points to 3.73%.

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