Stocks Opened Higher after Weak Jobs Report

U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday despite news showed the U.S. economy shed jobs in December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 62.11 points, or 0.20%, to 31,103.24. The S&P 500 gained 16.94 points, or 0.45%, to 3,820.73. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 89.23 points, or 0.68%, to 13,156.71.

Oil futures rose Friday, on track for solid weekly gains attributed in large part to Saudi Arabia’s decision to unilaterally slash crude output. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery rose 66 cents, or 1.3%, to $51.49 a barrel. March Brent crude was up 80 cents, or 1.5%, at $55.18 a barrel.

The U.S. lost jobs in December for the first time in eight months as the coronavirus bore down on the economy again and forced businesses to resort to more layoffs. The government and private sector shed 140,000 jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. The official unemployment rate, meanwhile, was unchanged at 6.7%.