With a meeting by the Federal Reserve out of the way, U.S. stocks are ticking higher Thursday as Wall Street waits for reports on profit at one of its most influential stocks and on the health of the country's job market.

U.S. stocks have swung to an upbeat start in May, with Wall Street’s “fear gauge” easing to its lowest level since the end of March as investor

A "just right" April employment report showing cooling job and wage gains has given hope that the Fed could cut interest rates sooner than later.

"The case for rate cuts got a little stronger today. Goldilocks could be making a comeback," TradeStation market strategist David Russell said.

U.S. stocks closed sharply higher Friday, as Treasury yields fell after a softer-than-anticipated April jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 1.2% higher, while the S&P 500 gained 1.3% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2%,

European and Asian shares were mostly higher Friday ahead of a report on U.S. employment that is expected to show the economy remains strong despite a prolonged bout of high interest rates. Oil prices and U.

Wall Street pointed toward big gains Friday as a key report showed modest job growth in April, a sign that persistently high interest rates may be starting to take a bigger toll on the world’s largest economy.

Wall Street pointed toward gains early Friday ahead of a report on U.S. employment that is expected to show the economy remains strong despite a prolonged period of high interest rates. Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.