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US stocks ease lower after July jobs report

New York - Wall St stocks opened lower Friday after a report showed solid US jobs growth in July, but the market's declines were more modest compared with Thursday's rout.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 27.31 points (0.16%) to 16 535.99.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 3.06 (0.16%) to 1 927.61, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 4.37 (0.10%) to 4 365.40.

In the much-anticipated monthly jobs report, the labour department said the US economy generated 209 000 new jobs in July, down from June but maintaining the solid 200 000-plus monthly streak since February.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the data was not "undeniably strong," and would reduce expectations that the US Federal Reserve will hasten its plan to raise benchmark interest rates.

The jobs report "arguably hit the sweet spot for tempering the rate hike concerns," O'Hare said.

On Thursday, US stocks tumbled about two percent on a range of worries, including weak corporate earnings, the Argentine debt default and poor eurozone data.

European bourses continued to trade sharply lower Friday, with Britain's FTSE 0.9% lower, Germany's DAX down 1.7% and France's CAC 40 off 0.7%.

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