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.
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