U.S. stocks open higher despite downbeat jobs report

NEW YORK, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened higher Friday despite a negative report of the country's nonfarm payrolls.

U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 148,000 in December, missing market expectations of 190,000, the Labor Department reported Friday. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent.

In December, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 9 cents to 26.63 U.S. dollars. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 65 cents, or 2.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Friday that the goods and services deficit was 50.5 billion dollars in November, up 1.6 billion dollars from October.

Analysts said that the recent solid gains in U.S. equities have been buoyed by the prospect of a U.S. corporate tax-cut package, rising commodity prices and robust corporate earnings.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70.38 points, or 0.28 percent, to 25,145.51. The S&P 500 added 9.59 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,733.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 27.36 points, or 0.39 percent, to 7,105.28.

All three major indices closed at record highs on Thursday, with the Dow shooting above 25,000 points for the first time, as investors cheered over strong U.S. private-sector hiring data. Enditem