MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Open Lower After Jobs Report

By Anora Mahmudova and Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market opened slightly lower as investors digested a jobs report that came in weaker than expected, but nonetheless indicated the economy is growing at a moderate pace, and the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates sooner than expected.

The U.S. in July gained more than 200,000 jobs for the sixth straight month, signaling the economy is likely to sustain its momentum through the summer months. The unemployment rate ticked up to 6.2%, as more people entered the labor force in search of work, the government reported.

The main benchmarks were nursing their wounds from Thursday after the worst selloff in months and were on track to record weekly losses.

The S&P 500 (SPX) opened 4.7 points, or 0.3%, lower at 1,925.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) gave up 46 points, or 0.3%, to open at 16,513.09. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) began the day down 4 points, or 0.1%, at 4,364.04.

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Investors also are reacting to comments from two Fed policy makers.

Richard Fisher, the president of the Dallas Fed and a voting member on the Fed's rate committee, said during an interview with CNBC that the central bank is now closer to raising rates after a two-day policy meeting that ended Wednesday. But Charles Plosser, the president of the Philadelphia Fed, said interest rates are "well behind" what is appropriate.

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Other data due Friday include consumer sentiment and manufacturing activity in July, and monthly auto sales.

Company news

Investors focused on earnings results as well as reacted to monthly car sales figures.

Procter & Gamble (PG) topped profit estimates, and shares rose nearly 2%.

Shares of Mobileye (MBLY), which makes camera-based driver-assistance systems in cars, will make their trading debut on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares late Thursday priced at $25 a share, above an expected range of $21 to $23 a share. Also read: Four things to know about Mobileye.

GoPro Inc. (GPRO) posted better-than-expected second-quarter results late Thursday, but the shares fell 10%, giving back some of their 30% increase since their June debut.

Deal news sent shares of Bally Technolgoies Inc. (BYI) up 33%. Shares of Scientific Games Corp. (SGMS) eased 3% after it announced plans to buy Bally in a deal worth around $5.1 billion.

In Europe, stocks were down, but generally well off their lows after the jobs data. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei Average lost 0.6%.

Crude-oil futures (CLU4) lost ground, and gold futures (GCU4) advanced 0.9%. The ICE U.S. Dollar index (DXY) was at 81.354, down from 81.446 on Thursday.

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