U.S. stocks wavered at the open on Friday after a key U.S. jobs report showed the pace of hiring by employers had eased slightly in December but gave signals of some momentum in the labor market’s recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 10.48 points to 13,401.84 and the S&P 500 index was up 2.22 points to 1,461.59. The Nasdaq Composite index dropped 1.71 points to 3,098.86.
The pace of hiring by U.S. employers eased slightly in December. Payrolls outside the farming sector grew 155,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. That was in line with analysts’ expectations and slightly below the revised gain of 161,000 reported for November.
Tentative signs the euro zone may have passed the worst of its downturn emerged in December but business surveys also suggested Britain’s economy tipped back into contraction in the final months of 2012.
China fined South Korean and Taiwanese makers of LCD display screens $56 million on Friday for price-fixing, joining the United States and Europe in a crackdown on the industry.
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