U.S. stocks opened higher Friday after a jobs report that bolstered the case for the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates later this month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 53 points, or 0.3%, to 17531. The S&P 500 gained 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1%.
Should the Fed raise rates later this month, it would solidify a divergence in monetary policy with Europe. On Thursday, the European Central Bank announced less-aggressive-than-expected stimulus that rattled markets on both sides of the Atlantic. European and Asian stocks fell Friday.
And oil prices' losses deepened as investors awaited news from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting on Friday. U.S. crude oil fell 2% to $40.26 a barrel.
The Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls increased a seasonally adjusted 211,000 in November, beating expectations for 200,000 jobs.
"This pretty much locks in the first rate hike this month," said Brian Nick, head of tactical asset allocation at UBS Wealth Management Americas. "It's reflective of economic strength in the U.S.," he said, which is a positive sign for corporate profits and future stock-market gains.
Friday's report is the last major piece of economic data that the Federal Reserve will consider before it meets in mid-December. A majority of investors expect solid jobs growth to bolster the case for the Fed to raise short-term interest rates for the first time since 2006.
After the jobs report, the dollar rose against the euro as one euro bought $1.0919 compared with $1.0940 ahead of the data. The dollar increased to Yen123.04 from Yen122.79 beforehand.
"Overall, it's positive for the dollar as it cements the case for a December rate hike," said Ian Gordon, currency strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "The next leg of dollar move is dependent on the pace of hikes next year," he said.
U.S. government bond yields pulled back after a brief rise.
"The first rate hike is a done deal but the path is going to be shallow, " said Gary Pollack, who helps oversee $12 billion as head of fixed-income trading in New York at Deutsche Bank AG's private wealth management unit.