U.S. stocks inched broadly higher on Friday after a widely-anticipated labor market report showed that the American economy added more jobs than expected last month, although January’s blockbuster number was revised sharply lower.
By 09:40 ET (14:40 GMT), the S&P 500 had added 10 points or 0.2%, NASDAQ Composite had climbed 55 points or 0.3%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average was just just 3 points.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 275,000 in February, increasing from a downwardly revised total of 229,000 in January, according to data from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists had called for a reading of 198,000.
