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New York - Wall Street stocks finished modestly higher Friday as investors grappled with US jobs data that showed a big drop in hiring in April.
The much-anticipated monthly report put April's job gains at by far the weakest level of the year at 160 000.
However, analysts also pointed to positive aspects of the report, such as a wage growth gain of 2.5% year-on-year, a possible sign of continuing firming in the jobs market.
The market reaction was choppy, with US stocks dropping shortly after the report's release but later pushing into positive territory. The broad-based S&P 500 ultimately closed up 0.3%.
Equity markets in Europe also initially dropped on the US figures, but later rallied somewhat. Both London and Frankfurt finished with modest gains, while Paris ended down 0.4%.
The dollar initially dived on the news, but by 21:00 GMT, the greenback was back near flat with Thursday's levels with respect to the yen and the euro.
"It's definitely a mixed bag," FTN chief economist Chris Low said of the report. "You've got weakness in the headline, but the work week was longer and wages rose."
Analysts said the report dimmed the already-low odds that the US Federal Reserve will hike interest rates in June.
Global stocks fell earlier this week following a batch of lackluster data from the US, China and the eurozone.
Heading into Friday, investors feared a weak US jobs report could prompt additional falls because it would be seen of further US slowdown after a meek first quarter.
But Low said some of the feebleness in the headline jobs figure came from sectors such as construction and retail that had seen strong gains earlier in the year.
"It's hard to get worried about a month of weakness when you've had such phenomenal growth the three months before," he said.
Nariman Behravesh, economist at consultancy IHS, called the slower jobs growth "seasonal payback" for the strength earlier in the year.
"Most indicators of the labor market continue to point to ongoing strength," he argued in a client note, predicting a rebound to 200 000-plus levels.
French steelmaker ArcelorMittal fell 1.2% after reporting a first quarter loss of $416m (€364.3m) and warning that the recovery in the steel market was "fragile" due to excess capacity in China.
Japanese auto parts supplier Takata dived 8.6% as Japanese markets reopened following news earlier in the week that US regulators had ordered it to expand recalls of faulty airbags blamed for at least 13 deaths globally.
US pharma stocks suffered after a disappointing outlook from Endo International raised worries about drug pricing weakness. Endo flopped 39.2 percent. Fellow drugmakers Allergan, Teva and Mylan all fell 4.0% or more.
