Stocks are set to open higher on better-than-expected jobs data Friday. Thirty minutes before the opening bell on Wall Street, stock index futures hint at a possible 70 or 80 point early gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The US economy lost 247,000 jobs during the month of July, according to the latest statistics from the Labor Department. The decline was much less than the 443,000 in June (revised from 467,000) and also better the economist projections.

The unemployment rate edged down to 9.4 percent from 9.5 percent. Economists were looking for an increase to 9.6 percent. Meanwhile, average hourly earnings rose .2 percent, compared to expectations for a .1 percent.

Stock index futures rose on the data. Bonds sank. The benchmark ten-year Treasury is off almost a full point, pushing its yield back up to 3.88 percent.

The dollar rallied 1.17 to 96.55 against the Japanese yen. The euro slipped back towards 1.43 on the buck.

Crude oil is up 72 cents to $72.66 barrel. Gold is up $2.6 to $965.50 an ounce.

In stock news, AIG is up another 11 percent after the company reported a surprise profit that beat Street estimates by over $1 per share. CBS, NVida (NVDA), Crocs (CROX), and Beazer Homes (BZH) are set to gap higher on earnings as well. However, Ambak (ABK), Sequenom (SQNM), and PMI are seeing post-earnings weakness.