Off the wire
• Foreign exchange rate of Euro to other currencies  • EU approves FedEx acquisition of TNT Express  • Civil society group opposes transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to Ghana  • Turkey to invite Egypt to Islamic summit in Istanbul  • ADB's cooperation with AIIB is "kind of a win-win": ADB president  • Zambia power utility denies accusations of causing job losses in mines  • Kenya's Masai rebound from injury, sets focus on Olympics  • IMF says regional economic growth in Africa affected by low oil price, mounting insecurity  • Kenya's Karako targets gold in Rio Olympics, World Half Marathon  • FAO predicts poor crop yields in Zambia due to poor rains  
You are here: 　 Home

U.S. stocks steady after upbeat jobs report

Xinhua, January 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks traded slightly higher in the morning session Friday, as Chinese stocks rebounded, and newly-released data showed stronger-than-expected job growth in the United States.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 20.34 points, or 0.12 percent, to 16,534.44. The S&P 500 inched up 0.37 points, or 0.02 percent, to 1,943.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 3.43 points, or 0.07 percent, to 4,692.86.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 292,000 in December, beating market estimates of 200,000, and unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0 percent, said the U.S. Labor Department Friday.

Traders focused on the robust employment data, the first jobs report since the U.S. Federal Reserve's mid-December decision to raise its interest rates.

The upbeat report suggests that a recent manufacturing-led slowdown in economic growth would be temporary, according to the Reuters.

In Asia, China's shares showed signs of stabilization, with benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 1.97 percent Friday, after the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced the stock market "circuit breaker" mechanism would be suspended.

Meanwhile, investors continued to look to oil prices amid rising tensions in the Middle East. Crude prices rose modestly early Friday, but remained near multi-year lows.

U.S. stocks slumped for a second straight day on Thursday, as global market rout and falling oil prices continued to weigh on Wall Street. Enditem