U.S. stocks pull back after 2-day surge

U.S. stocks deepened losses in the morning session Friday after two days' big rally, as investors were pondering over the December jobs report.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 140.39 points, or 0.78 percent, to 17,767.48. The S&P 500 fell 14.16 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,047.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 27.76 points, or 0.59 percent, to 4,708.42.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 252,000 in December, and the unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 5.6 percent, topping analysts' estimates, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday.

However, the jobs report showed a lack of acceleration in wage growth, as average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by five cents in December.

"2014 ends with a bang" as job growth in the fourth quarter averaged 289,000, said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note. "This report will keep the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) focused on 2015 tightening. The only questions are when will they opt for liftoff, and will the tenor of data change before we get there."

Meanwhile, U.S. wholesales inventories went up 0.8 percent in November, beating market expectations of a 0.3-percent gain, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks rose sharply for a second day, with benchmark indexes turning higher for the year, as improvements in the labor market and a patient Federal Reserve helped Wall Street recover from sharp selloffs. Endite