Stocks look set to carry forward the upward momentum on Friday amid some earnings cheer, although a tinge of nervousness is evident ahead of the all-important non-farm payrolls report. A strong labor market would give the nod for the Federal Reserve to stay “higher for longer,” and a wage inflation measure from the report will also be on investors’ radar. Also, a national non-manufacturing activity reading is due for the day. Apple, Inc (NASDAQ:APPL) appeased the Street with a quarterly report that was not so bad as feared. The company also announced a massive buyback program and a modest dividend hike. The stock has a little under 6% weighting in the S&P 500 Index. Futures Performance (+/-) Nasdaq 100 +0.70% S&P 500 +0.42% Dow +0.83% R2K +0.07% In premarket trading on Friday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) climbed 0.41% to $507.08, and the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) jumped 0.71% to $429.93, according to Benzinga Pro data. Cues From Previous Session: Stocks rose solidly on Thursday in a relief rally following the Fed decision, with falling bond yields also working in favor of the market. The major indices opened higher but reversed course and fell below the unchanged line briefly in late-morning trading. Buying resumed thereafter, sending the averages steadily higher. In the process, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 Index snapped a two-session losing streak. Communication services, IT, and consumer discretionary stocks advanced solidly, while health care and material stocks came under selling pressure. Index Performance (+/-) Value Nasdaq Composite +1.51% 15,840.96 S&P 500 Index +0.91% 5,064.20 Dow Industrials +0.85% 38,225.66 Russell 2000 +1.81% 2,016.11 Insights From Analysts: The ...