US stocks trade higher on strong jobs report

On the last trading day of the week, major US equity indices opened higher as investors cheered upbeat US monthly jobs report.

The Labor Department reported that the economy added 209K new jobs in July, well above consensus estimates pointing to a reading of 183K. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked lower to a 16-year low level of 4.3%, while average hourly earnings rose 0.3% on a m-o-m basis. 

   •  US: Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 209,000 in July

During the opening hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average held in positive territory for the ninth consecutive session and gained around 55-points to 22,080. Meanwhile, the broader S&P 500 Index added 7-points to 2,479 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed over 16-points to 6,356.

There had been some concerns over market valuations but the incoming second-quarter earnings reports, showing a beat on both the top line and the bottom line justified stretched valuation at current levels. And hence, it would not be surprising to see if the markets continue to grind higher until the end of this year.