Stocks Opened Slightly Lower as Weak Jobs Weighed

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Friday as investors weighed a weaker-than-expected March employment data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately slipped 15.66 points, or 0.08%, to 20,647.29. The S&P 500 declined 3.34 points, or 0.14%, to 2,354.15. The Nasdaq Composite was off 12.83 points, or 0.22%, to 5,866.12.

Oil prices hit a one-month high on Friday after the United States fired missiles at a Syrian government airbase, sending shockwaves through global markets and raising concerns that the conflict could spread in the oil-rich region. Brent crude futures were up 38 cents at $55.27 a barrel at 1129 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 47 cents at $52.17 a barrel.

The U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected in March while the unemployment rate plunged to a new post-crisis low. In March, nonfarm payrolls grew by 98,000, well below the 180,000 that was expected by economists and down from February’s revised job gains of 219,000. The unemployment rate, however, plunged to 4.5%, a new post-crisis low and the lowest since May 2007.

Samsung Electronics said Friday its first-quarter profit jumped 48 percent, a better-than-expected result that analysts believed to be driven by strong smartphone components. Its January-March operating income will be 9.9 trillion won ($8.8 billion), compared with 6.7 trillion won a year earlier, the South Korean company said in its earnings preview.