NEW YORK, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday, as investors continued to cheer on the better-than-expected nonfarm payroll report.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.23 points, or 0.02 percent, to 22,097.04. The S&P 500 gained 0.51 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,477.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 9.89 points, or 0.16 percent, to 6,361.46.
U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 209,000 in July, well above market expectations, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.3 percent, according to the U.S. Labor Department Friday.
"Because last July's job growth was the second strongest of the year, the 12-month average of job creation actually dropped a bit, which puts this month's report very nicely into perspective. All the key data were stronger than expected, but none were really all that strong," said Chris Low, chief economist of FTN Financial.
Traders kept a close eye on the nonfarm payroll report and tried to find clues on when the Federal Reserve might start the balance sheet reduction and increase interest rate.
Meanwhile, investors were waiting for more earnings reports this week. The latest data from Thomson Reuters showed the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the second quarter of 2017 are expected to rise 11.8 percent year on year, while the revenues are forecasted to increase 5.0 percent.
U.S. stocks posted mixed weekly performance last week as investors digested a batch of economic data and second-quarter earnings.
For the week, the blue-chip Dow gained 1.2 percent, and the broader S&P 500 added 0.2 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq decreased 0.4 percent. Enditem
