(MENAFN- AFP) US stocks edged up early Monday in the first day of trade since the weak March jobs report amplified doubts about the speed of any Federal Reserve interest rate increases.
About 35 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,775.96, up 12.72 points (0.07 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 1.92 (0.09 percent) to 2,068.88, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.91 (0.04 percent) at 4,888.84
On Friday, the Department of Labor reported that the US economy added just 126,000 jobs in March, half of the expected level and the worst month since December 2013. US equity markets were closed Friday.
William Dudley, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Monday told a New Jersey gathering that the jobs report suggests that first-quarter growth "is likely to be quite weak."
Dudley said the timing of Fed interest rate hikes is "uncertain" and will remain dependent on economic data.
Mace Blicksilver, director of Marblehead Asset Management, said the jobs report "does not strengthen the hand for a hawkish Fed."
Trade volumes were light Monday as equity markets remained closed in Europe in observance of the Easter holiday.
Cable and entertainment giant Comcast rose 0.3 percent on news that "Furious 7", the latest instalment in the "Fast and Furious" series from Comcast's Universal Pictures unit, reaped a robust $143.6 million in its first weekend.
Ventas, a real estate investment trust in the health care sector, rose 5.1 percent after announcing it would acquire Ardent Health Services, a leading for-profit hospital company, for $1.75 billion. The deal brings Ventas 10 hospitals in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.
Tesla Motors rose 6.3 percent on news it delivered 10,030 cars in the first quarter, a new company record.
Airlines stocks fell as US oil prices rose above $50 a barrel. American Airlines shed 1.7 percent, Delta Air lines dropped 1.6 percent, Southwest Airlines fell 2.9 percent.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond rose to 1.85 percent from 1.84 percent Friday, while the 30-year rose to 2.51 percent from 2.49 percent.
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