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New York - Wall Street stocks rose moderately early on Thursday after the Labor Department reported the US economy added 223 000 jobs in June.
About 35 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17 796.42, up 38.51 points (0.22%).
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 4.73 (0.23%) to 2 082.15, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 2.04 (0.04%) to 5 015.17.
While the headline US jobs number came in above the key 200 000 benchmark, the overall report was mixed. Average hourly earnings were flat compared with May and the Labor Department cut its estimates for job growth in April and May.
Analysts said the report kept the US Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates later this year.
Health insurer Health Net jumped 12.2% on news it struck a deal to be acquired by another insurer, Centene, for $6.8bn. Centene fell 4.5%.
Xoom, which provides online international money transfers services, bolted 21.7% higher on news it will be acquired by PayPal for about $890m. PayPal is in the process of being separated from eBay. EBay shares rose 1.2%.
Tesla Motors rose 2.1% after announcing that it delivered 11 507 Model S electric cars in the second quarter, a 52% increase from a year ago and the highest ever in a quarter.
BP rose 4.8% after it announced that it had agreed to pay up to $18.7bn to settle civil claims by the US government and five states over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury dropped to 2.37% from 2.42% Wednesday, while the 30-year fell to 3.17% from 3.21%. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
