US stocks open higher after strong jobs report

US stocks opened higher on Friday as Wall Street cheered over the country's better-than-expected jobs report.

US total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 227,000 in January, well above market consensus of 175,000, the Labour Department reported on Friday. The unemployment rate was little changed at 4.8 per cent, Xinhua news reported.

In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 3 cents to $26.00, following a 6-cent increase in December. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5 per cent.

In corporate news, shares of Amazon dropped over 3 per cent in the early trading on Friday, after the company delivered quarterly earnings above estimates but revenues shy of forecasts.

Shares of Visa surged over 4 per cent in the early trading following the release of the credit-card company's better-than-expected quarterly results.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 92.76 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 19,977.67. The S&P 500 added 8.85 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 2,289.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 15.31 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 5,651.51.

On Thursday, US stocks closed mixed after wavering between gains and losses, as investors meditated on a batch of corporate earnings reports.

--IANS

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