Wall St. looks to jobs report

LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- Wall Street will focus its attention Friday on one of the most anticipated economic reports of the month: the government's latest reading on employment.

At 4:30 a.m. ET, futures were higher, with a comparison to fair value pointing to a mixed start for U.S. stocks.

Employers are forecast to have added 125,000 jobs last month, down from 157,000 in May, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com

The jobs report, which is slated for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, is likely to set the tone for the trading day.

Stocks were on a roll this week before traders cleared out for the Independence Day holiday, which fell right in the middle of the week.

In global markets, European stocks struggled in early trading. Most Asian markets finished the session lower.

In major corporate news, Microsoft (Charts, Fortune 500) said late Thursday that it would take a more than $1 billion charge for repairs to its Xbox 360 video game consoles.