US stocks open lower as investors consider job numbers

New York: US stocks opened lower Friday after a mixed US jobs report left investors uncertain about the outlook for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy.

The report showed that the US unemployment rate fell to a seven-year low in August, but also that employers added fewer jobs than forecast.

While the steady hiring could encourage the Fed to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade later this month, some economists think that a sharp economic slowdown in China could cause policymakers to refrain from hiking.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 235 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 16,136 as of 9.50am. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gave up 27 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 1,923. The Nasdaq composite slipped 52 points, or 1 per cent, to 4,682.