U.S. stocks open higher after strong July jobs report

U.S. stocks opened higher Friday, on track to erase most of their declines from earlier in the week, after a strong July jobs report painted an upbeat picture of the U.S. labor market. The S&P 500 gained 7 points, or 0.2%, to 2,168. The Dow industrials added 90 points, or 0.5%, to 18,446. The Nasdaq Composite rose 24 points, or 0.5%, to 5,190. Official data showed the U.S. economy created 255,000 nonfarm jobs last month, surpassing a consensus forecast for 185,000 from a MarketWatch survey of economists. Average hourly wages climbed 0.3% to $25.69, keeping the 12-month rate of wage gains at a postrecession high.

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