07:35 AM EST, 12/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The benchmark US stock measures were pointing higher before the open Friday as investors await September's delayed inflation report ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, the Nasdaq added 0.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1% in premarket activity. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed Thursday in the green for the third consecutive session, while the Dow finished lower.

The personal income and outlays report for September, which was delayed due to the now-ended federal government shutdown, is scheduled for a 10 am ET release. The report includes the personal consumption expenditure core price index, the Fed's preferred inflation metric.

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee is set to meet Dec. 9 with a decision on interest rates the following day. The odds of a 25-basis-point rate cut by the FOMC stood at 87% on Friday, down from 88% on Thursday, but up from 62% a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

On Thursday, a report by Challenger Gray & Christmas showed that US-based employers announced roughly 1.2 million layoffs for the first 11 months of 2025, up 54% from a year earlier and the highest year-to-date total since 2020. Job cuts in November decreased 53% sequentially, according to the global outplacement firm.

"While hardly gaining momentum, the labor market is a far cry from the worries of a massive deterioration that would force the Fed to make a third-round rate cut at year-end," Stifel Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza said Thursday. "There are those on the FOMC that continue to support further action, but there are also a number of officials that are still concerned about the lack of price stability and potential for a further acceleration into the new year as inventories and margin cuts will no longer shield consumers from the burden of higher costs."

Treasury yields were mixed in premarket action, as the two-year rate slipped 0.2 basis points to 3.53% while the 10-year rate increased by 0.4 basis points to 4.11%.

Friday's economic calendar also has the preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for December at 10 am, followed by the weekly Baker Hughes oil-and-gas rig count at 1 pm.

Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) dropped 9.7% pre-bell as the information technology firm issued a fiscal first-quarter revenue outlook below market expectations. Ulta Beauty ( ULTA ) gained 5.8% as the beauty retailer reported better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter sales.

Netflix ( NFLX ) and Warner Bros. Discovery ( WBD ) announced an agreement under which the streaming giant will acquire Warner Bros., including its film and television studios, HBO Max and HBO, for an equity value of about $72 billion.

Victoria's Secret (VSCO) is slated to report its latest financial results before the bell, among others.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil decreased 0.2% to $59.56 a barrel before the opening bell. Gold inclined 0.3% to $4,253 per troy ounce, while bitcoin moved down 1% to $91,349.