US open: Stocks mostly higher as non-farm payrolls rise
US stocks were mostly higher as data revealed that unemployment fell to its lowest level in nine years, with the Federal Reserve on course for an expected rate hike in a fortnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.09% to 19,174.57 points, but the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 2,195.39 points, and the Nasdaq was higher by 0.21% to 5,262.36 points at 1501 GMT.
The non-farm payroll showed that the economy added 178,000 new jobs in November, more than the 142,000 jobs created the previous month. The gain was not a far cry from the 180,000 consensus forecast.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.6% from 4.9% in October, which was the lowest level since 2007, while labour force participation rate slipped to 62.7% from 62.8%.
Hourly earnings were down 0.1%, weaker than 0.2% expected.
Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “On the face of it, the combination of falling unemployment and sluggish-looking wage numbers appears to support the idea that perhaps the Fed can allow the economy to run hotter for longer without taking undue inflation risks. But we are very skeptical.”
He added: “The bottom line here is that these data don't change the outlook for the December Fed committee; rates will rise. But if unemployment really is at 4.6%, the next question is just how far wage growth will accelerate next year, and how much more the Fed will have to do in order to cap it.”
Meanwhile in Europe the main indices were all in the red as investors grew jittery ahead of Sunday’s Italian referendum on constitutional reform. Market participants are concerned that if the outcome is a 'no' vote, political uncertainty will ensue, making the task of sorting out non-performing loan issues at the country’s banks more difficult.
Oil prices were slightly up on recovering from Wednesday's gains after OPEC agreed to cut production by 1.2m barrels a day to 32.5m for six months from January.
Brent crude nudged up 0.07% to $53.98 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crept 0.15% to $51.14 at 1452 GMT.
Gold on Comex ticked up 0.58% to 1,176.20 per troy ounce at 1456 GMT.
In currency markets, the dollar was slipped 0.61% against the yen to 113.40, edged lower by 0.62% against sterling to 0.7893, but was slightly higher by 0.1% against the euro to 0.9433.
In corporate news, Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance’s shares were on the back foot by 1.22% after it lifted its outlook for the year late on Thursday.
Shares in Big Lots gained 1.85% as the discount retailer reported that third quarter sales were flat and revenue unexpectedly declined, but raised its profit outlook.
Sales were flat around 2%, while revenue slipped 1% to $1.11bn, just below the $1.12bn expected by analysts. It expects adjusted earnings per share to be between $3.55 to $3.60 in the final quarter.
Looking ahead, the Baker Hughes US rig count report will be released at 1800 GMT. At the same time the Fed’s Daniel Tarullo will speak at the financial stability conference.