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U.S. stocks open lower after Easter break

Xinhua, April 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday as investors assessed the disappointing March jobs report on Friday.

The U.S. economy added 126,000 jobs in March, falling short of economists' estimate of 245,000 and the unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 percent, the latest sign the labor market might be slowing down, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The slowing job market might reflect the weak economic growth in early 2015, which was attributed to severe cold weather, inventory adjustments and strengthening dollar.

New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said Monday that the central bank will watch subsequent data to see if March's report was an indicator of greater economic weakness, according to CNBC.

However, Dudley also said the U.S. economy faces some downside growth risk from the rising U.S. dollar and declining oil prices.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 77.89 points, or 0.44 percent, to 17,685.35. The S&P 500 lost 5.96 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,061.00. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 19.38 points, or 0.40 percent, to 4,867.56.

U.S. markets were closed for Good Friday. U.S. stocks posted modest gains on Thursday, as investors were digesting economic data and news of a preliminary agreement reached on Iran' s nuclear program. Endite