US open: Stocks higher following NFP report

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks traded higher early on Friday following the release of key jobs data for February. As of 1545 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.12% at 38,838.65, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.44% to 5,180.08, while the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.74% firmer at 16,393.99.

The Dow opened 47.30 points higher on Friday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.

Friday's primary focus was last month's all-important nonfarm payrolls report, which revealed hiring in the US had continued at a strong clip, albeit alongside a very clear slowdown in wage growth. According to the Department of Labor, non-farm payrolls jumped by 275,000 in February. Economists were expecting to see growth of 198,000.

However, the non-farm payrolls readings for December and January were revised down by a combined -167,000 to 290,000 and 229,000, respectively. The rate of unemployment, meanwhile, which was derived from a different survey than the one that generates the payrolls figures, increased by two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.7%.

"Alongside the rise in the unemployment rate to a two-year high and a much weaker rise in wages, there is less reason now to be concerned that renewed labour market strength will drive inflation higher again," said Andrew Hunter, deputy chief US economist at Capital Economics. "The decline in the job quits rate to below its pre-pandemic level suggests wage growth will slow a lot further over the coming months."

In the corporate space, chipmaker Broadcom traded lower despite issuing full-year revenue guidance that was in line with expectations, while retailer Costco was in the red after its quarterly revenue missed estimates.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $171.87 1.70% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $307.11 1.55% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $392.69 1.10% 3M Co. (MMM) $93.35 0.79% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $189.35 0.79% Visa Inc. (V) $280.36 0.75% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $342.60 0.70% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $21.08 0.65% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $274.17 0.48% Nike Inc. (NKE) $98.53 0.35%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $158.94 -1.05% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $122.71 -1.03% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $289.03 -0.71% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $59.95 -0.68% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $475.86 -0.61% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $148.53 -0.56% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $59.13 -0.52% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $218.53 -0.40% Boeing Co. (BA) $202.26 -0.38% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $375.13 -0.38%

S&P 500 - Risers

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $226.49 7.15% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $972.84 4.98% Carnival Corp. (CCL) $16.39 4.67% CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.80 4.34% General Electric Co. (GE) $172.24 3.45% Gap Inc. (GPS) $19.94 3.18% Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $26.82 3.11% Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $128.05 2.98% Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $20.19 2.88% Carmax Inc. (KMX) $82.90 2.78%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $741.17 -5.65% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $1,363.80 -3.07% Centene Corp. (CNC) $78.03 -2.05% Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $120.45 -1.80% Resmed Inc. (RMD) $189.24 -1.74% Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $147.84 -1.46% Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $769.71 -1.34% Dollar General Corp (DG) $156.90 -1.28% Gartner Inc. (IT) $464.55 -1.16% Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $92.26 -1.16%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.38 9.13% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $972.84 4.98% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $101.47 2.52% Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $17.36 2.42% Biogen Inc (BIIB) $224.44 2.32% Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $137.44 2.28% Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $138.32 2.27% Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $9.24 2.27% Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $317.49 2.15% Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $521.33 1.78%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $741.17 -5.65% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $1,363.80 -3.07% Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,031.86 -1.48% Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $147.84 -1.46% Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $92.26 -1.16% Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $241.93 -0.95% Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $76.79 -0.86% Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $173.98 -0.74% eBay Inc. (EBAY) $50.44 -0.68% Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $966.83 -0.67%