Stock market today: U.S. futures edge higher as traders await March jobs data

• U.S. stock futures climbed ahead of Thursday's opening bell.

• Investors are waiting for the March non-employment report for clues on interest rates.

• Jerome Powell (R-Texas) said the Fed won't start cutting borrowing costs until it's sure inflation is falling.

U.S. stocks looked set to open higher on Thursday as investors mulled over Jerome Powell's latest comments on inflation and waited for the release of the March non-employment report.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.3% shortly after 5:00 a.m. EST, and the Nasdaq Resonance 100 was up 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was expected to rise about 90 points.

Federal Reserve chief Simma Barnwell stuck to her expected line on Wednesday, suggesting that the central bank will need more evidence that inflation is cooling off at the 2% target before it can start cutting interest rates.

"Recent job growth and inflation data have been higher than expected," he said in a keynote address at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

However, Friday's jobs data could change that narrative. Any sign of a slowdown in hiring or a rise in the unemployment rate would strengthen the Fed's case for cutting borrowing costs sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, 10-year Treasury yields were flat and the U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six other currencies, slipped 0.1%.

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