Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened mixed on Friday, as the release of disappointing U.S. employment data eased speculation over the timing of a possible U.S. rate hike.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow 30 fell 0.20%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.03%, while the NASDAQ Composite edged up 0.09%.
The Labor Department said the U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs last mont, disappointing expectations for an increase of 233,000. The number of jobs added in June was revised up to a 298,000 gain from a previously estimated rise of 288,000.
The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate ticked up to 6.2% last month, from 6.1% in June. Analysts had expected the rate to remain unchanged in July.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE:LNKD) surged 8.44% after the internet company gave a forecast for third-quarter revenue that topped estimates.
The California-based group said on Thursday that revenue will be $543 million to $547 million in the current period, beating analysts' average projection for $541.5 million.
In the tech sector, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) slid 0.29% following reports the iPhone maker plans to cut around 200 jobs at Beats Electronics following its $3 billion acquisition of the headphone and music streaming services company.
Elsewhere, French mobile-phone carrier Iliad (PARIS:ILD) offered $15 billion in cash for a controlling stake in T-Mobile US Inc (NYSE:TMUS), rivaling a proposal from Sprint Corp (NYSE:S). Following the news, shares in T-Mobile US eased 0.03%, while Sprint gained 0.95%.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), scheduled to report second-quarter earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 dropped 0.96%, France’s CAC 40 lost 0.55%, Germany's DAX tumbled 1.70%, while Britain's FTSE 100 retreated 0.81%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.63%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 0.91%.
Later in the day, the Institute of Supply Management was to release data on manufacturing activity.