Stocks Opened Higher After Employment Data

U.S. stocks stepped higher at the open on Friday after the latest U.S. payrolls report provided confirmation that economic conditions were improving. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 46.32 points, or 0.28%, to 16,882.43. The S&P 500 advanced 4.52 points, or 0.23%, to 1,944.98. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 10.82 points, or 0.25%, to 4,307.05.

The U.S. added 217,000 jobs in May as labor markets seem to be gaining the kind of sustained momentum that has proven elusive as the economy has struggled to recover from the 2008 financial crisis. The headline unemployment rate was 6.3%, according to figures released Friday by the Labor Department.

Germany’s central bank on Friday raised its growth projection for 2014 citing strength in the domestic economy and the gradual recovery of the euro area. Meanwhile, official figures revealed recovery in industrial production and exports.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned George Osborne that accelerating house prices and low productivity pose the greatest threat to the UK’s economic recovery.

U.S. authorities negotiating with BNP Paribas over alleged sanctions violations at one point suggested that France’s biggest bank pay a penalty as high as $16 billion (9.5 billion pound).