US open: Stocks mixed following nonfarm payrolls report

Wall Street stocks were mixed early on Friday as market participants thumbed over January's nonfarm payrolls report.

As of 1525 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.24% at 35,027.76, while the S&P 500 was 0.25% firmer at 4,488.52 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.86% stronger at 13,998.69.

The Dow opened 83.40 points lower on Friday, extending the previous session's losses.

Friday's primary focus will be January's all-important nonfarm payrolls report, which revealed the US economy unexpectedly added 467,000 payrolls in January, much better than analysts' expectations for a print of 150,000.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nonfarm payrolls report showed employment growth continued in leisure and hospitality, up 151,000 month-on-month, while increases were also seen in professional and business services, retail trade, transportation and warehousing.

The unemployment rate, on the other hand, increased from 3.9% to 4.0%, while average hourly earnings increased to 0.07% from 0.05% a month earlier.

Investors were also digesting a slew of corporate earnings from overnight, with Ford shares in the red after missing estimates by a country mile, while Amazon, Pinterest and Snap stocks were all higher following strong quarterly results.

In terms of Friday's earnings, Bristol-Myers Squibb posted slightly better than expected fourth-quarter earnings, while Royal Caribbean Cruises posted a loss of $1.36bn in its fourth quarter.

Also in focus, WTI crude oil prices topped $92.0 per barrel for the first time since 2014, adding to inflation concerns, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note increased to 1.906%.