Stock Market Open: US Stocks Open Higher On Chinese Stimulus Package

U.S. markets opened higher Friday on word China planned to institute a massive stimulus package that could inject $126 billion into its economy.

In Midday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 80.43 up 0.31% while the S&P 500 was up 5.89 or 0.2% and the Nasdaq gained 8.78 or 0.11%.

China’s central bank announced it would cut reserve requirements for banks, freeing up 900 billion yuan in a signal Beijing is increasingly worried about the slowing economy, which has been exacerbated by the trade war with the U.S. The state-run Xinhua news agency said the decision would “bolster the economy” by freeing up funds for lending to small businesses.

The move followed word Thursday a new round of high-level trade talks with Washington would begin in early October with preliminary discussions to commence in mid-September.

In the U.S., the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported nonfarm payrolls rose by 130,000 in August, leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 3.7% for the third straight month. Employment in the federal government also rose, largely reflecting hiring for the 2020 Census.

The number of those employed was virtually unchanged at 6 million while the long-term unemployed, 1.2 million, accounted for 20.6% of all those out of work. The jobs numbers for June and July were revised downward by 15,000 and 5,000, respectively.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 0.54% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.66% and the Shanghai Composite increased 0.46%.

In Europe, the UK FTSE 100 was virtually unchanged at the close, up 0.04% . The German DAX was up 0.46% and the French CAC was up 0.13%.

The British pound was off 0.24% against the dollar.

Crude oil futures were off 1.1% while gold was up 0.16% and silver gained 0.04%.