NEW YORK, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday after an upbeat jobs report sent interest rates up.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 205.34 points, or 0.78 percent, touching 25,981.37. The S&P 500 decreased 16.94 points, or 0.60 percent, to 2,805.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 37.45 points, or 0.51 percent, to 7,348.41.
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 200,000 in January, and the unemployment rate stayed unchanged at 4.1 percent, stronger than market expectations, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Average hourly earnings posted a 0.3 percent gain for the month and an annualized gain of 2.9 percent.
The data sent interest rates higher. The 10-year Treasury yield jumped to as high as 2.84 percent, putting pressure on the stocks.
On the earnings front, Alphabet reported its fourth-quarter earnings Thursday afternoon, missing Wall Street earnings expectations but beating revenue estimates. Both Apple and Amazon reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Thursday after the closing bell.
Shares of Exxon Mobil dropped 5.39 percent to trade at 84.27 U.S. dollars apiece after it reported weaker-than-expected earnings on Friday.
