Stocks Opened Higher despite Disappointing Jobs Report

U.S. stocks opened in record territory on Friday as investors looked beyond weaker-than-expected U.S. job additions in December and took support from signs of a pick-up in wage growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 58.76 points, or 0.23%, to 25,133.89. The S&P 500 gained 6.95 points, or 0.26%, to2,730.94. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 24.25 points, or 0.34%, to 7,102.17.

Oil prices fell Friday as some investors cashed in on the week’s strong gains and others assessed ambiguous U.S. inventory data. West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down 0.9% at $61.44 a barrel. Brent crude was down 0.9% at $67.50 a barrel.

The December jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed nonfarm payrolls grew by 148,000 while the unemployment rate stayed steady at 4.1%, slightly missing expectations.

The U.S. trade deficit widened 3.2% in November to $50.5 billion, the highest trade gap since January 2012. Imports rose 2.5% to $250.7 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday. Exports rose 2.3% to $200.2 billion. Year-to-date, the deficit is up 11.6% from the same period in 2016.