US stocks open higher as job market cools down

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US stock market opened higher on Friday as nonfarm payrolls for July indicated a cooling job market.

The Dow Jones rose 120 points, or 0.34%, to 35,339 at 9:36 am EDT (1336GMT).

The S&P 500 was up 26 points, or 0.6%, to reach 4,528, while Nasdaq increased 139 points, or 1%, to 14,098.

The US economy added 187,000 jobs in July, lower than market estimates of 200,000, the Labor Department announced earlier.

The softening figure indicated a cooling job market in the world's biggest economy.

The easing figures suggest that employers in the US are feeling less pressure to offer higher salaries to workers, while the Federal Reserve tries to tame wages in its fight against high inflation.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, plummeted 7% to 14.81.

The 10-year US Treasury yield, meanwhile, fell 2.1% to 4.103%.

The dollar index fell 0.7% to 101.82, while the euro rose 0.7% to $1.1023 against the greenback.

Precious metals were in positive territory, with gold rising 0.5% to $1,945 per ounce and silver increasing 0.6% to $23.72.

Oil prices were up around 0.5%, with global benchmark Brent crude at $85.55 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $81.95.