Stocks Opened Higher after Jobs Report

U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday after a government report showed the U.S. economy added a fairly solid number of new jobs in March.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately gained 9.89 points, or 0.06%, to 16,582.44. The S&P 500 added 0.04 points, at 1,888.81. The
Nasdaq Composite was down 24.21 points, or 0.57%, at 4,213.53.

U.S. employers maintained a solid pace of hiring for a second straight month in March, further evidence of resilience in an economy that
had been held back by a brutally cold winter. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 192,000 jobs last month after rising 197,000 in February, the Labor Department said on Friday.

Political gridlock is slowing U.S. economic growth, impacting the confidence and budgets of businesses across the country, a top Fed
official said here on Friday.

Generic drug group Mylan Inc. (MYL) is mulling the purchase of Swedish pharmaceutical group Meda AB (MEDAA), The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The sources said Mylan has been working with advisors on a potential deal.