Stocks Opened Mostly Higher after Strong Jobs Data

U.S. stocks opened mostly higher on Friday after data showed U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 76.52 points, or 0.31%, to 25,076.19. The S&P 500 was up 2.43 points, or 0.09%, to 2,706.53. The Nasdaq Composite was down 8.69 points, or 0.12%, to 7,273.05.

Oil contracts saw mixed trading Friday, amid a fresh survey showing a considerable drop in OPEC production. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for March delivery fell 4 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $53.74 a barrel. April Brent gained 16 cents, or 0.3%, to $61 a barrel.

The U.S. economy added 304,000 non-farm payrolls in the first month of 2019, ahead of consensus expectations of 165,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4.0%, largely due to the government shutdown.