U.S. stocks open higher on jobs data

U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday as investors reevaluated the impact of February' s strong jobs data.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 295,000 in February, well above market expectations, and the unemployment rate edged down to 5.5 percent, the U.S. Labor Department said in a report Friday.

U.S. stocks fell sharply Friday, with the three major indices all losing more than 1 percent, as investors worried that a strong monthly jobs report heightened speculations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates sooner than anticipated.

Friday' s selloff was exaggerated, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at broker-dealer Rockwell Global Capital, according to the Wall Street Journal. There is no economic news so markets are going to reassess Friday' s employment data, Cardillo added.

The European Central Bank (ECB) began its 60 billion euros per month bond buying program on Monday with the aim of fending off deflation and boosting the euro area economy by pumping more money into the real economy.

In corporate news, Apple was in focus Monday as investors were looking for details on its new Apple Watch product. Shares jumped 0.95 percent in the early trading.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 37.12 points, or 0.21 percent, to 17,893.90. The S&P 500 rose 2.69 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,073.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 4.30 points, or 0.09 percent, to 4,931.67. Endi