08:55 AM EDT, 04/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures posted narrow gains ahead of Friday's opening bell as traders digested the monthly jobs report.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures, S&P 500 futures, and Nasdaq futures were all up 0.3%.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.3% and US West Texas Intermediate crude up 0.1%, on threats of a wider conflict in the Middle East following reports that Iran warned of retaliation against Israel for a bombing on its embassy in Syria.

Nonfarm payrolls, released at 8:30 am in Washington, rose by 303,000 in March following a 270,000 increase in the preceding month, compared with estimates for a 214,000 gain. The unemployment rate fell 10 basis points to 3.8% in March, in line with expectations.

Japan's Nikkei closed 2% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.01% lower, while the Chinese market was closed for holiday. UK's FTSE 100 fell 1% and Germany's DAX index dropped 1.4% in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, shares of Candel Therapeutics ( CADL ) were 14% higher after the company reported positive phase 2 results from a non-metastatic pancreatic cancer trial.

On the losing side, Enphase Energy ( ENPH ) shares fell 3.3% after the company disclosed in a regulatory filing that chief commercial officer David Ranhoff will step down from the role for personal reasons.