US open: Stocks little changed after non-farm payrolls report
US stocks were little changed after a worse-than-anticipated non-farm payrolls report dampened expectations of an earlier interest rate hike.
Employers in the US added 209,000 jobs in July following an upwardly revised 298,000 increase in June, the Labor Department revealed on Friday. Analysts had expected a 230,000 gain.
The unemployment rate also edged up to 6.2% in July from 6.1% a month earlier, compared to forecasts for it to remain unchanged. Average hourly earnings climbed 2% in July, missing expectations for a 2.2% rise. It followed a 1.9% increase in June.
"But this was by no means a weak report. The preceding month was exceptionally strong, and upward revisions of the backdata by 15,000 (for June and May) nearly make up for the miss to consensus of 230,000," said Berenberg economist Christian Schulz.
"Such a balanced report reinforces our view that the Federal Reserve will stay the course and end asset purchases in October."
The Fed on Wednesday decided to hold interest rates and scale back monthly bond purchases by $10bn.
Chris Williamson at CMC Markets said the job data is likely to ease speculation that rates could rise sooner than previously expected.
"Even if the economy is booming, if wages are not rising at a reasonable rate to help boost incomes, and there are no signs of worrying inflationary pressures in the labour market, it's hard to see how an argument for raising interest rates can be won," he said.
Another report showed personal consumption expenditure rose 1.5% year-on-year in June, beating forecasts for a 1.4% advance.
Meanwhile, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer confidence may fall in July to 81.8 from 82.5 in June, according to economists' forecasts ahead of the release later on Friday.
The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index will also be released and is expected to have increased in July.
Yelp, Procter & Gamble
Online reviewing group Yelp dropped despite reporting its first quarterly profit since its flotation as investors focused on a slowdown in local-based advertiser growth.
Procter & Gamble Co. advanced as the world's largest consumer goods maker reported profit that topped estimates amid cost reductions.
GoPro fell after reporting a wider quarterly loss than a year earlier.
LinkedIn Corp. gained after projecting revenue that beat analysts' forecasts.
The US 10-year yield fell two basis points to 2.54%.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined 0.770% to $97.42 per barrel, according to the ICE.
RD