US: Stocks open higher after June jobs data

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks opened higher on Friday, adding to the week's gains, after data showed the US economy added a higher than expected 850,000 jobs in June.

Analysts however said the much-anticipated data from the Labor Department was not uniformly outstanding, noting that unemployment ticked up to 5.9 per cent.

The report "was okay, but not great," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

"The key takeaway for the market is that it is apt to convince the Fed that it needs to take additional time to watch the incoming data before it moves to lessen its dovish-minded accommodation." The report comes as a strong week for US equities winds down ahead of Monday's holiday in observance of Independence Day.

About 10 minutes into trading, the S&P 500 was up 0.3 per cent at 4,330.73. The broad-based index has closed at records the last six days.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up slightly at 34,639.22, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.6 per cent to 14,604.93.

AFP