US STOCKS-Wall St set for higher open on upbeat U.S. jobs report, China data

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* U.S. job growth in Oct. slows less than expected
* Qorvo jumps on $1 bln share buyback, Q3 rev. view
* Big oil reports: Exxon rises, Chevron drops
* AIG drops as third-quarter earnings miss
* Futures up: Dow 0.43%, S&P 0.41%, Nasdaq 0.43%

(Adds comments, updates market action)
By Arjun Panchadar
Nov 1 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open higher on
Friday, taking comfort from October data that showed U.S. jobs
growth slowed less than expected and China's factory activity
expanded at its fastest pace in more than two years.
The Labor Department's non-farm payrolls data showed jobs
growth in October came in at 128,000 compared to expectations of
89,000, according to economists polled by Reuters. However,
growth still slowed from September.
The report also showed hiring in the prior two months was
stronger than previously estimated, offering assurance that
consumers would continue to prop up the slowing economy for a
while. "It's interesting because there was an expectation of 50,000
jobs being gone simply because of the GM strike but clearly that
doesn't show up. That tells me that it was a very strong
report," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and
derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.
Amid mixed headlines on the trade talks between Washington
and Beijing, China's surprise rise in manufacturing activity in
October came as a relief for the markets. All three main U.S. stock indexes notched gains in October
on the back of a largely better-than-expected third-quarter
earnings season, hopes of interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal
Reserve and upbeat U.S.-China trade rhetoric.
After scaling record highs earlier in the week, the
benchmark S&P 500 edged lower in the previous session following
a report that Chinese officials had doubts about a comprehensive
long-term trade deal with Washington.
However, on Friday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said
the initial "phase one" trade pact with China appears to be in
good shape and is likely to be signed around mid-November,
although a finite date is still in question. At 8:51 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 115 points, or
0.43%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 12.5 points, or 0.41% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 34.75 points, or 0.43%.
Among stocks, oil major Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N rose 0.6%
after it beat recently lowered third-quarter profit
expectations, while peer Chevron Corp CVX.N fell 0.8% as it
posted a 36% drop in quarterly profit. Qorvo Inc QRVO.O jumped 11.6% after the Apple Inc AAPL.O
supplier announced a $1 billion share buyback plan and forecast
third-quarter revenue above expectations. Shares of American International Group Inc AIG.N fell 2.6%
after the insurer missed estimates for third-quarter profit due
to weakness in its life and retirement business. Pinterest Inc PINS.N tumbled 21% after the online
scrapbook company missed quarterly revenue estimates.
Arista Networks ANET.N slumped 29% after the cloud
infrastructure supplier forecast current-quarter revenue much
below Wall Street expectations.
Investors awaited the Institute for Supply Management's
(ISM) manufacturing report due at 10 a.m. ET, which is expected
to show the PMI index rose to 48.9 in October from a 10-year low
of 47.8 a month earlier.