Stocks Opened Slightly Higher after Strong Jobs Report

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Friday following the release of the latest U.S. employment report which showed the economy created a bigger-than-expected 288,000 jobs in April, well above Wall Street estimates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 18.02 points, or 0.11%, to 16,576.89. The S&P 500 was up 2.83 points, or 0.15%, to 1,886.51. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.40 points, or 0.03%, to 4,128.85.

U.S. job growth increased at its fastest pace in more than two years in April and the unemployment rate dived to a 5-1/2 year low of 6.3 percent, suggesting a sharp rebound in economic activity early in the second quarter. Nonfarm payrolls surged 288,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday.

After months of speculation, Ford has finally announced that Alan Mulally will be retiring as president and Ford CEO effective July 1, and that COO Mark Fields will be stepping up to fill his shoes.

News Corp (NWS), the publishing company chaired by Rupert Murdoch, said Friday that it would pay $415 million to acquire Harlequin, best known for romance novels sometimes nicknamed “bodice rippers.”

British drug maker AstraZeneca rejected a sweetened offer from New York-based rival Pfizer, the firm said Friday.