Stocks Opened Higher after Strong Jobs Report

U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, after a better-than-expected jobs report and continued optimism on U.S.-China tariffs discussions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately gained 57.48 points, or 0.22%, to 26,442.11. The S&P 500 gained 9.23 points, or 0.32%, to 2,888.62. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 31.85 points, or 0.40%, to 7,923.64.

Oil futures pulled back Friday, with Brent crude retreating a day after touching, but failing to convincingly move through, the psychologically important $70-a-barrel level. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery fell 22 cents, or 0.4%, to $61.88 a barrel. June Brent was off 26 cents or 0.4%, at $69.14 a barrel.

The U.S. economy added a surprisingly robust 196,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department reported on Friday. The unemployment rate checked in at 3.8%, the same pace of increase as in February, according to consensus economists polled by Bloomberg.