US stock market opens mixed after weak jobs data

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major indices in the US stock market opened mixed on Friday after weak jobs data.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 50 points, or 0.14%, to 36,190 at 9.33 a.m. EDT.

The S&P 500 fell 7 points, or 0.15%, to 4,688. The Nasdaq declined 21 points, or 0.14%, to 15,063.

US economy added 199,000 jobs in December, coming lower than the market estimate of 400,000, according to the Department of Labor earlier.

The VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, was up 0.76% to 19.76.

The dollar index was down losing 0.26% to 96.07, but the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes jumped 0.76% to 1.746%.

Precious metals were slightly up, with gold adding 0.07% to $1,792 per ounce and silver rising 0.1% to $22.2.

After losing 5.2% on Wednesday, the price of Bitcoin fell another 3% to $41,800. The crypto market's total value was around $1.98 trillion with a 3.3% daily loss, according to data by digital asset price-tracking website CoinMarketCap.

Crude prices were mixed with Brent crude trading at $82.11 per barrel with a 0.15% gain, but US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down 0.13% to $79.36.