The Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq indexes opened higher, Friday, after the release of data showing a rise in the unemployment rate and a decline in wage increase momentum, which reinforces expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by the middle of this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 14.55 points, or 0.04 percent, to 38,776.80 points.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index opened up 7.10 points, or 0.14 percent, to 5,164.46 points, while the Nasdaq Composite index increased 48.73 points, or 0.30 percent, to 16,322.10 points.
The US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday in its closely watched jobs report that nonfarm payrolls increased by 275,000 jobs last month.
January data was revised downwards to show the addition of 229,000 jobs instead of the 353,000 previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters expected the addition of 200,000 jobs, with estimates ranging between 125,000 and 286,000. An increase of approximately 100,000 jobs is required per month to keep pace with the growth in the working-age population.
The labor market supports the American economy, which outperforms its global counterparts. Economists do not expect a recession this year. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent in February after remaining stable at 3.7 percent for three consecutive months.
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