US STOCKS-Wall St set to open higher after stronger-than-expected jobs report

By Twesha Dikshit and Purvi Agarwal

Feb 11 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set for a solid start on Wednesday as stronger-than-expected jobs data pointed to a resilient U.S. economy, while the unemployment rate ticked lower for January.

Nonfarm payrolls increased 130,000 in January, compared with an estimated 70,000 increase, according to economists polled by Reuters, while the unemployment rate stood at 4.3% versus expectations of 4.4%.

The data lowered bets for interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. December's unexpected stall in retail sales had nudged the odds of an April reduction up to 35.5% from 32.2% a day ago, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Traders are now fully pricing in the first 25 bps rate cut in July, while certainty of a second similar sized reduction in 2026 eased slightly, LSEG data showed.

"Equities are viewing this favorably because the underlying employment picture looks like it's stronger than what's expected and most importantly maybe somewhat stronger than has been recently assessed and characterized by the FOMC," said Jordan Rizzuto, chief investment officer at GammaRoad Capital Partners.

The inflation report due on Friday could further alter expectations for the rate path.

At 08:43 a.m., Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 203 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 26.5 points, or 0.38%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 107.75 points, or 0.43%.

Quarterly earnings remained in focus, with Cloudflare NET.N shares jumping 13.8% after the cloud and network security provider offered a better-than-expected forecast for annual and first-quarter sales.

Robinhood HOOD.O shares dropped 9.6% after the retail brokerage posted fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations.

Humana HUM.N slid 6.5% after the health insurer forecast 2026 profit below Wall Street estimates, while U.S.-listed shares of Shopify SHOP.O jumped 11.3% after projecting first-quarter revenue above expectations.

Kraft Heinz KHC.N dipped 7.4% after the company said it had paused work to split into half.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed lower in the previous session, while the Dow notched its third straight record close. The benchmark index, however, was not too far off its record high in January end.

AI-led disruption remained a point of worry, with markets quick to punish sectors perceived to be at risk. After software names were hit hard last week, brokerage stocks stumbled on Tuesday as startup Altruist's AI-enabled tax-planning features stoked worries.

Among other movers, Moderna MRNA.O shares fell 10.5% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decided not to review the drugmaker's approval application for its influenza vaccine.

Lyft LYFT.O tumbled 15.7% after the ride-hailing company's quarterly profit forecast and annual ride volumes fell short of Wall Street expectations.