Wall Street stocks were only slightly higher early on Friday as market participants thumbed over September’s nonfarm payrolls report.
As of 1520 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.06% at 34,775.54, while the S&P 500 was 0.14% firmer at 4,406.02 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.09% stronger at 14,666.66.
The Dow opened 20.60 points higher on Friday, narrowly extending gains recorded in the previous session after Congress reached an agreement to stave off the US debt limit for the time being, avoiding a government default.
Friday’s primary focus was the monthly nonfarm payrolls report from the Department of Labor, which revealed job growth in the US had continued to slow unexpectedly in September. The report said nonfarm payrolls came in at just 194,000, considerably less than the gain of 500,000 that economists had been anticipating, principally due to a 123,000 decline in new government jobs.
Tech stocks were trading higher in early trade after the weaker-than-expected payrolls figure quelled concerns that the Federal Reserve would move to rapidly strip monetary stimulus.
Elsewhere on the macro front, wholesale inventories rose 1.2% in August, according to the Census Bureau, bang in line with expectations as sales rose 1.1% and prior sales increased 2.0%. Stock to sales ratios improved from 1.20 to 1.23.
While no major corporate earnings were slated for release on Friday, the Street was gearing up for third-quarter earnings season, which kicks off next week with JPMorgan, BlackRock and Delta all reporting on Wedesday.
