US open: Dow higher as investors digest NFP data

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks were in the green at the open on Friday as investors digested key labour market data later. As of 1550 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.30% at 37,551.26, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.59% to 4,715.64 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.62% firmer at 14,600.37.

The Dow opened 110.92 points higher on Friday building on the previous session's modest gains.

Despite the early gains, major indices were all still firmly on track to snap a nine-week winning streak early on Friday, with a cooling off of large-cap tech stocks and fears that optimism surrounding interest rate cuts may be overdone both weighing on the market.

At the open, the yield on the benchmark ten-year US Treasury note was down almost four basis points at 3.961%, below the psychologically important 4% barrier, while its two-year counterpart was more than five basis points at 4.329%.

On the macro front, the US economy added 216,000 jobs in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, up from November's downwardly revised print of 173,000 and well ahead of market forecasts for a reading of 170,000. Non-farm payrolls were of particular importance early on Friday, given that the report was closely watched by the Federal Reserve and helps guide its thinking on its interest rate policy going forward.

Elsewhere, the Institute for Supply Management's services PMI unexpectedly fell to 50.6 in December, the lowest reading seen in seven months, down from both 52.7 in November and expectations for a reading of 52.6. New orders slowed sharply, down from 55.5 to 52.8, while both employment and inventories also contracted. On the other hand, production growth accelerated to 56.6 from 55.1, and price pressures eased from 57.4 to 58.3.

On another note, US factory orders climbed 2.6% in November, according to the Census Bureau, beating market forecasts for growth of 2.1% for the biggest monthly gain since January 2021.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Friday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.72 1.81% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.98 1.55% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $388.37 1.42% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $342.98 1.30% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $289.80 1.29% Boeing Co. (BA) $247.80 1.17% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $54.79 1.11% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $371.64 1.01% American Express Co. (AXP) $188.99 0.99% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $252.97 0.69%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $537.18 -1.51% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $288.23 -1.20% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $24.08 -0.72% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $156.78 -0.62% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $148.03 -0.42% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $302.28 -0.29% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $160.55 -0.19% Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $117.06 0.04% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $160.84 0.13%

S&P 500 - Risers

Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $29.82 4.89% Fluor Corp. (FLR) $38.23 4.80% Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) $28.13 4.75% Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $17.97 4.42% Gap Inc. (GPS) $20.83 3.55% Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $62.57 3.44% Mohawk Inds Inc. (MHK) $104.17 3.44% CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.81 3.43% Carnival Corp. (CCL) $17.40 3.26% Keycorp (KEY) $14.80 3.24%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.55 -2.90% Humana Inc. (HUM) $455.79 -2.30% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $537.18 -1.51% United Rentals Inc. (URI) $541.35 -1.37% Msci Inc. (MSCI) $552.66 -1.26% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $288.23 -1.20% Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI) $308.38 -1.08% Westrock Company (WRK) $41.72 -1.04% Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $235.56 -1.00% CME Group Inc. (CME) $201.27 -0.73%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.85 4.74% Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $268.46 2.72% American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.44 2.71% Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,559.45 2.64% Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $59.71 2.15% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $490.28 2.15% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $96.15 2.06% Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $5.53 1.93% Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.72 1.81% Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $133.47 1.55%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $92.70 -3.31% JD.com, Inc. (JD) $26.76 -1.49% Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $96.54 -1.22% Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $235.56 -1.00% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $24.08 -0.72% Incyte Corp. (INCY) $66.17 -0.63% Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $579.01 -0.58% O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $931.17 -0.49% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $82.39 -0.39% Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $73.33 -0.35%