U.S. stocks open higher on jobs report

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher Monday, as weak nonfarm payrolls caused investors to revise down the likelihood of the U.S. Federal Reserve hiking rates in June.

U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 160,000 in April, well below the market consensus of 200,000, the Labor Department reported Friday. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5 percent in April, also missing the market estimate of 4.9 percent.

In April, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 8 cents to 25.53 U.S. dollars, following an increase of 6 cents in March. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5 percent.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said Monday that he expected to see a 2.5 percent growth rate of the U.S. economy for the full year 2016, but the Fed's "wait and see" approach on interest rates at this time is appropriate.

There is no major economic data due out Monday.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 5.89 points, or 0.03 percent, to 17,746.52. The S&P 500 rose 2.13 points, or 0.10 percent, to 2,059.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 6.98 points, or 0.15 percent, to 4,743.13.

U.S. stocks reversed early losses to end higher Friday, as the country's weak jobs report raised expectations that the Fed would go slow on future interest rate hikes. Endi