U.S. stock futures cut losses on strong job growth

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pared losses to trade slightly higher on Friday after data showed U.S. job growth increased more than expected in June as manufacturers stepped up hiring, while steady wage gains pointed to moderate inflation pressures.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 213,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast nonfarm payrolls increasing by 195,000 jobs last month.

While the unemployment rate rose to 4.0 percent from an 18-year low of 3.8 percent in June, average hourly earnings rose five cents, or 0.2 percent, after increasing 0.3 percent in May.

At 8:32 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 4 points, or 0.02 percent. S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.75 points, or 0.06 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 10.5 points, or 0.15 percent.

A minute before the data was released, Dow e-minis were down 80 points, S&P 500 e-minis was down 6 points and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 12.5 points.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)