Stocks soar after jobs report

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks were headed for a positive open after an in-line jobs report showed growth was back on track for September and suggested that the Federal Reserve may cut rates in the near future.

At 8:48 a.m. ET, futures moved sharply higher and were pointing to a positive open for Wall Street.

The government report showed a gain of 110,000 jobs after a decline in August, according to the Labor Department. The report was roughly in line with estimates of a 100,000 gain, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com. The unemployment rate also climbed to 4.7 percent from 4.6 percent in the prior reading.

The Labor Department also revised estimates from August with a gain of 89,000 jobs. That was a big upward revision from the originally reported 4,000 job loss.

Friday's job report could be a key factor on whether the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates again at its next meeting Oct. 13.

In global trade, Asian markets finished the session mostly higher, although Japan's Nikkei slipped slightly. European stocks were mixed in morning trading ahead of the U.S. jobs report.

The Wall Street Journal said a trio of banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland is expected to win enough support from shareholders of ABN Amro (Charts) Friday to win the long-running takeover battle for the Dutch bank.

In corporate news, General Electric (Charts, Fortune 500) announced late Thursday that it would close a number of lighting plants in Brazil and the United States, potentially cutting more than 1,400 jobs, as it restructures its consumer and industrial divisions. Shares of the diversified conglomerate, a Dow component, gained 0.8 percent in early Frankfurt trading Friday.

The nation's No. 1 aluminum maker, Alcoa (Charts, Fortune 500), another Dow component, also unveiled a restructuring plan late Thursday, saying it would sell its packaging and consumer and automotive castings businesses, and restructure its electrical and electronic solutions business. Shares of Alcoa gained 1.2 percent in after-hours trading and were up 2.7 percent in early Frankfurt trading Friday.

More buyouts may be coming to the auto industry after reports late Thursday that Ford Motor (Charts, Fortune 500) is seeking to make further staff cuts by offering severance and retirement packages to many of its remaining 58,000 hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers union. Ford already cut nearly 30,000 workers with such a buyout package in 2006.

Ford and the UAW are trying to reach a new labor pact in the wake of a deal at rival General Motors (Charts, Fortune 500) that ended a two-day strike last week. The UAW disclosed Friday that GM planned some kind of buyout package to take advantage of a lower wage structure for some new hires. Shares of both U.S. automakers gained in heavy Frankfurt trading Friday.

Research in Motion (Charts), the maker of the Blackberry wireless products, reported after the close Thursday improved results that met forecasts. Still it saw shares fall 2 percent in after-hours trading.

Attorneys general in Alaska and Idaho are looking into possible legal action against financial services firm State Street (Charts, Fortune 500) over losses their state retirement funds, according to a report in Friday's Wall Street Journal.

Oil prices edged lower in electronic trading, taking the price of a barrel of light sweet crude down 45 cents to $80.99.