: U.S. stocks open higher as investors weigh job-market report

U.S. stocks opened higher Friday as investors parsed a fresh report on the job market and Treasury yields retreated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA was up 0.3% soon after the opening bell, while the S&P 500 SPX rose 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP climbed 0.5%, according to FactSet data, at last check. The U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs in July, with the unemployment rate dipping to 3.5% from 3.6% in June, according to a report Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of new jobs was softer than the 200,000 anticipated by Wall Street. The employment report also showed average hourly earnings rose 0.4% in July, up 4.4% over the past 12 months. Last month’s wage growth was slightly higher than expected. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down about five basis points at 4.14% on Friday morning while two-year Treasury rates fell seven basis points to around 4.83%, according to FactSet data, at last check.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Previous post Here’s where the jobs are for July 2023 — in one chart
Next post Market Extra: Don’t wait for Fed rate cuts, says debt buyer to banks holding distressed commercial real estate