Stocks Opened Higher after Strong Jobs Data

U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday after the jobs report for February came in better than forecast. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 170.38 points, or 0.68%, to 25,065.59. The S&P 500 gained 19.07 points, or 0.70%, to 2,758.04. The Nasdaq Composite added 55.06 points, or 0.74%, to 7,483.00.

Oil prices received a boost on Friday from the possibility of a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader. April West Texas Intermediate crude rose 54 cents, or 0.9%, to $60.66 a barrel. May Brent crude rose 68 cents, or 1.1%, to $64.29 a barrel.

In February, the U.S. added 313,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the last three months, job gains have now averaged 242,000 per month. February’s payrolls gain was the largest since July 2016.