U.S. stocks open higher after April jobs report

NEW YORK, May 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday as Wall Street continued to digest the country's nonfarm payrolls report for April.

With no major economic data due on Monday, investors were still sifting through the country's April jobs data. U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 164,000 in April, missing market consensus of 195,000, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The unemployment rate edged down to 3.9 percent in April, notching the lowest level since December 2000.

In April, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 4 cents to 26.84 U.S. dollars. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 67 cents, or 2.6 percent.

The rising oil prices also provided some upward jolts to the market. Oil prices rose to their highest levels since late-2014 on Monday, with U.S. oil trading above 70 dollars a barrel for the first time since November 2014, as traders eyed a looming decision on whether the United States will re-impose sanctions on Iran.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 89.78 points, or 0.37 percent, to 24,352.29. The S&P 500 added 7.03 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,670.45. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 26.72 points, or 0.37 percent, to 7,236.34.

On Friday, U.S. stocks reversed early losses to end sharply higher, with all major indices jumping over 1 percent, as investors digested a slew of economic data as well as corporate earnings reports. Enditem