Wall St set to open lower after strong jobs report

By Tanya Agrawal

REUTERS - Wall Street was poised to open lower on Friday after data showed that U.S. job growth accelerated sharply in May and wages picked up, signs of momentum in the economy that could revive expectations of an interest rate hike in September.

Nonfarm payrolls increased 280,000 last month, the largest gain since December, and above the 225,000 that economists polled by Reuters had expected. Average hourly earnings grew by eight cents.

The Fed has kept overnight rates near zero since December 2008. The economy's sluggishness had left markets doubting whether the Fed would be able to raise rates this year.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week and was the 13th straight week that claims held below the 300,000 threshold, which is usually associated with a strengthening labor market.

"I think the report is a nice confirmation that the U.S. economy is still a winner coming out of a weak winter based on other factors," said Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley speaks before the Economic Club of Minnesota in Minneapolis at 12:40 p.m. ET (1640 GMT). Investors will keep an eye on the speech for his take on the monthly jobs data.

European shares were on track for their worst week of the year as a losing streak for bonds rumbled on and with wary investors anticipating more debt drama over Greece.

Greece delayed a payment to the International Monetary Fund as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras demanded changes to tough terms from international creditors for aid to stave off default. Tsipras is set to address the Greek parliament at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Futures snapshot at 8:50 a.m. ET:

* S&P 500 e-minis were down 5.75 points, or 0.27 percent, with 297,592 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 14 points, or 0.31 percent, on volume of 44,325 contracts.

* Dow e-minis were down 47 points, or 0.26 percent, with 47,734 contracts changing hands.

(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)