Futures are inching higher ahead of the jobs report

US stock futures are a bit higher but little changed as markets await the big jobs report for June that will be released shortly.

At 7:18 a.m. ET, Dow futures are up 38 points (0.21%), S&P 500 futures are up 5 points (0.26%) and Nasdaq futures are up 7 points (0.17%.)

Treasurys are little changed, with the yield on the 10-year note at 1.387%.

Stocks staged a late-day rally to close slightly negative on Thursday following strong labor-market data.

This short trading week, the S&P 500 is slightly down, by 0.23%. Last week was the best for stocks this year.

Gun stocks are taking off - a move we've seen following various shootings that gained major media attention.

Snipers shot 11 police officers and killed five in Dallas on Thursday near the end of protests against the fatal shootings of two black men by cops earlier this week.

Smith & Wesson shares are up 5.5% and near an all-time high pre-market, while Sturm, Ruger & Company is up 3%.

Crude oil is higher, following a 4% slump on Thursday that followed a smaller-than-forecast decline in weekly inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude futures in New York are up 1% to $45.62 per barrel, still near the lowest level in two months.

At 8:30 a.m. ET, economists anticipate that the Bureau of Labor Statistics will report job gains in June that outpaced the sluggish pace of the prior month. The consensus is for 180,000 nonfarm payrolls, and it's possible that the May print of 38,000 gets revised upwards.