US STOCKS-Futures rise ahead of June jobs report

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* Futures up: Dow 0.92%, S&P 0.62%, Nasdaq 0.38%

By Pawel Goraj
July 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday
as investors awaited the crucial jobs report for further
evidence of an economic rebound in June, although a record surge
in daily COVID-19 cases kept gains in check.
Optimism about a post-pandemic rebound in business activity,
aggressive U.S. stimulus and hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine have
fueled a Wall Street rally since April, with the tech-heavy
Nasdaq notching up its sixth record closing high since early
June on Wednesday.
After recent data showed U.S. manufacturing in June hit its
highest level in more than a year, the Labor Department's
monthly employment report due later in the day is expected to
show record job growth last month, signaling that a
COVID-19-driven recession was probably over. But with several states scaling back or pausing reopenings
to tackle a recent surge in coronavirus infections, analysts
have warned of another selloff in financial markets if the
damage to Corporate America mounts.
Third-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are now
expected to tumble 25%, compared with a forecast of a 2.7% drop
on April 1, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. In the second
quarter, earnings are forecast to have plunged 43%.
At 6:39 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 235 points, or
0.92%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 19.25 points, or 0.62%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 39 points, or 0.38%.
Travel-related stocks were among the biggest gainers in
premarket trade, with cruise line operators Carnival Corp
CCL.N , Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL.N and Norwegian
Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N rising between 3% and 4%.
Economically-sensitive stocks including Morgan Stanley
MS.N , Goldman Sachs GS.N , Citigroup Inc C.N , JPMorgan
Chase JPM.N and Bank of America Corp BAC.N rose between 1%
and 3%.