US stocks edge up, trying to hold on to gains

Wall Street stocks ticked up Monday after a rosy end to the week, bolstered by data indicating the jobs market is cooling.

About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 percent to 34,104.44.

The broad-based S&P 500 Index picked up 0.2 percent to 4,367.78, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.5 percent to 13,548.00.

This comes as major US indices try to hold on to gains from last week, after a weaker jobs market report lowered expectations of further interest rate hikes.

Employment figures released by the Labor Department on Friday showed that the US economy added 150,000 jobs in October as hiring slowed, while monthly wage growth ticked down to 0.2 percent.

“There should be some natural cooling after that hot run, but what remains notable at this point is that there isn’t any concerted selling interest after such a massive move,” said Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com in a note.

“Now, the stock market is back on a proving ground, needing to show it can retain its positive bias,” he added.

With cooler economic data, Treasury yields eased as well, boosting equities, they edged up again early Monday.

While the calendar is lighter on economic data for now, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak twice later in the week.

AFP

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