NEW YORK: US stocks are climbing Friday morning after the government said employers stepped up their hiring last month, another positive sign for the US economy.

The biggest gains are going to small-company stocks, which stand to benefit from a pickup in the economy. Banks rose sharply after President Trump took a first step toward scaling back financial industry regulations. Major stock indexes remain slightly lower for the week.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 110 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 19,994 as of 10am. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index picked up 9 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 2,289. The Nasdaq composite rose 14 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 5,650.

Financial stocks made the largest gains. Dow components JPMorgan Chase added $1.62, or 1.9 per cent, to $86.21 and Goldman Sachs rose $6.95, or 3 per cent, to $237.26.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks climbed 8 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 1,365. Smaller, domestically-focused companies may have more to gain than their larger peers from faster growth in the US The Russell made large gains at the end of 2016 based on those hopes.

US JOBS: US employers added 227,000 jobs in January, according to the Labor Department. That’s more than last year’s average monthly gain of 187,000. The unemployment rate ticked up to a low 4.8 per cent from 4.7 per cent in December as more people started looking for work.

CARD SWIPED: Visa said shoppers stepped up their use of debit and credit cards in the fourth quarter, and the payment processing company also benefited from its acquisition of Visa Europe. Its profit and revenue were stronger than analysts expected, and Visa’s stock gained $4.42, or 5.4 per cent, to $86.72.

AMAZON FAILS TO IMPRESS: Online retail giant Amazon traded lower as investors grew concerned about its sales. The company’s fourth-quarter sales fell short of analyst estimates and the company said it expects $33.25 billion to $33.75 billion in revenue in the current quarter. That’s more than $2 billion short of Wall Street estimates. The stock gave up $26.90, or 3.2 per cent, to $813.05.

SAFETY CHECK: Network security company Fortinet reported a bigger profit and greater revenue than analysts expected and its stock climbed $4.34, or 13.1 per cent, to $37.52 Competitor FireEye slumped $2.29, or 17.7 per cent, to $10.68. That company disclosed a smaller profit and less revenue than expected, and it forecast weaker-than-expected sales for the current quarter.

PANTSED: Underwear, T-shirt and sock maker Hanesbrands announced surprisingly weak holiday sales and its stock slumped $3.08, or 13.6 per cent, to $19.63.

BONDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.45 per cent from 2.48 per cent.

ENERGY: Benchmark US crude added 5 cents to $53.59 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 2 cents to $56.58 a barrel in London.

CURRENCY: The dollar dipped to 112.65 yen from 112.70 yen. The euro edged up to $1.0767 from $1.0764.

OVERSEAS: France’s CAC 40 jumped 1 per cent. The British FTSE 100 rose 0.7 per cent while Germany’s DAX added 0.3 per cent. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo finish almost unchanged and Seoul’s Kospi added 0.1 per cent. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.2 per cent.

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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/marley-jay