Wall Street wavers after U.S. payrolls report

U.S. stock indices opened Friday slightly lower, before turning modestly higher, with wavering dominating Wall Street's movements following the U.S. payrolls report.
 
The U.S. economy created less jobs than expected last month, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.7% from 4.6%, weighing negatively on Wall Street's performance today.
 
On the other hand, the dollar returned higher today against main currencies after hitting a three-week trough yesterday, which weighed on shares of American exporters.
 
U.S. stocks held on to their gains on economic growth prospects as President-elect Donald Trump paves the way for new stimulus plans and spending on infrastructure, which helped stabilize stocks.
 
Standard and Poor's 500 rose 0.08%, or 1.74 points to 2,270.74, while Dow Jones gained 0.02%, or 3.54 points to 19,902.83.
 
Tech-heavy NASDAQ advanced 0.24%, or 13.36 points to 5,501.30.