US stocks flat on solid jobs report

New York - Wall Street stocks were little changed early on Friday after US unemployment posted a nine-year low, boosting the chances of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this month.

The jobless rate fell three-tenths to 4.6% in November, with a solid 178 000 net new positions created, the Department of Labour reported.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare pointed to some weaknesses in the report, such as a slight drop in average hourly wages. But he joined other analysts in predicting the figures were strong enough to keep the Fed on track to hike rates.

About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 19 177.45, down 0.1%, retreating slightly from Thursday's record.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.2% to 2 194.52, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.1% to 5 256.40.

Markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt fell as polls suggest Italy will vote against a referendum supported by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who could resign with a defeat.

Polls also suggest far-right Austrian presidential candidate Norbert Hofer has a good shot of winning Sunday's presidential race, an outcome that could further embolden anti-eurozone interests.

Starbucks fell 2.6% after it announced that Howard Schultz was stepping down as chief executive early next year, to be replaced by president and chief operating officer Kevin Johnson.

Schulz will stay on as executive chairman and chairman of the board and will build up the company's super premium coffee shop business.

Gap fell 1.4% after reporting that November comparable sales fell 1%.

The apparel chain said trends remained challenging, but that sales improved in the latter part of the month as the holiday shopping season kicked off.