Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, after rather positive U.S. employment data showed that the job market is recovering steadily.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow 30 rose 0.31%, the S&P 500 added 0.28%, while the NASDAQ Composite gained 0.32%.
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 217,000 in May, missing expectations for a 218,000 increase, after a 282,000 rise in April, whose figure was revised down from a previously estimated 288,000 gain.
The private sector added 216,000 jobs last month, exceeding expectations for a 210,000 gain, after a downwardly revised 270,000 increase in April.
The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.3% last month, compared to expectations for a rise to 6.4%.
In the financial sector, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) gained 0.45% amid reports the U.S. lender could pay more than $12 billion to settle probes by the Justice Department and a number of U.S. states.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) added to gains, edging up 0.13% as the iPhone maker was said to be stepping up its campaign to win over more developers in China, hoping to replicate an platform of games and other widgets that has helped it drive iPhone and iPad sales in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) was also on the upside, advancing 0.88%, as the company said it will continue to display on-screen messages that blame broadband providers for slow-loading videos.
The move came a day after Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) threatened legal action against the online streaming provider if it doesn’t stop citing the phone company when films and TV shows load slowly or are interrupted in progress.
Meanwhile, Sprint (NYSE:S) slipped 0.11% after plummeting over 4% on Thursday amid reports the telecom company is nearing an agreement on the price, capital structure and termination fee of an acquisition for T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS), up 0.06%.
Rally Software Development (NYSE:RALY) saw shares dive 23.49% after projecting revenue below market expectations, while the stock was downgraded by a number of analysts.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.71%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.65%, Germany's DAX rose 0.33%, while Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.44%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 0.69%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 0.01%.