US open: Stocks open higher after Trump announces meeting with China's Xi
US stocks carved out some gains at the opening bell on Friday as investors thumbed through the latest non-farm payrolls report.
At 1525 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial was up 0.60% at 25,150.19, while the S&P 500 moved 0.32% higher to 2,712.70 and the Nasdaq traded 0.14% firmer at 7,292.21.
The Dow opened 150 points higher on Friday as market participants were mulling the latest developments between the US and China, after Donald Trump said on Thursday that he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping soon to seal a deal on trade.
Speaking at the White House during a meeting with Chinese vice premier Liu He following two days of trade talks between US and Chinese delegates, Trump said he was optimistic that the two nations could reach "the biggest deal ever made".
Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said both sides have good reason to find a compromise on the issue and avoid further tariffs, or even reverse those previously imposed.
"The Chinese economy is currently in the midst of an economic slowdown - as evidenced by the worrying manufacturing PMIs this week - and Trump will be hoping to secure re-election next year and is in need of a big win."
Overnight, China's Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for January came in at 48.3, down from 49.7 in December, marking its worst reading since February 2016 and missing expectations for a reading of 49.5.
On the domestic data front, US non-farm payrolls increased by 304,000 at the start of 2019.
The consensus estimate had been for a reading of only 163,000 in January.
Offsetting the overshoot in the headline number, revisions to the prior two months' worth of data were a combined -70,000, with December's print of 312,000 marked down to show a still strong 222,000.
Joblessness, on the other hand, surprised to the upside, with the rate of unemployment rising by a tenth of a percentage point from the prior month level to 4.0%, as employment on the Household Survey's measure declined by 251,000 when compared to December, as a result of the partial federal government shutdown.
Elsewhere, the University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment index dropped to 91.2 in January from the 98.3 recorded in December - the worst result since Donald Trump was elected president.
In corporate news, online retail giant Amazon was 4.13% lower in early trade after it posted record quarterly earnings and revenue on Thursday but issued a weaker-than-expected outlook.
Elsewhere, Merck shares gained 1.56% at the open after better-than-expected fourth-quarter numbers, while Honeywell was 1.54% higher after it forecast full-year earnings above analysts’ estimates.