US open: Stocks fall after non-farm payrolls disappoint

US stocks fell on Friday as the non-farm payrolls report came in worse than expected.

At 1538 BST the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.32%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.41% and the Nasdaq declined 0.58%.

The US non-farm payrolls increased 160,000 last month, compared to forecasts of 200,000 and 215,000 in March, the Labor Department revealed.

The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0%, as anticipated by analysts.

Average hourly earnings rose 2.5% year-on-year in April, beating forecasts for a 2.4% increase and following a 2.3% gain in March. On the month, however, hourly earnings growth remained at 0.3%, in line with estimates.

“An interest rate hike next month is now looking unlikely as the general economic waters are far from calm," said Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com.

"Weak growth at home and overseas is a major concern, as is poor manufacturing output, so Janet Yellen and the Fed are expected to keep the interest rate pause button pressed for a little longer.”

Meanwhile, oil prices rebounded from falls earlier in the session with West Texas Intermediate crude up 0.72% to $44.65 per barrel and Brent up 0.72% to $45.34 per barrel at 1518 BST. Gold also advanced, with the spot and Comex prices rising 0.72% and 1.36, respectively.

On the corporate front, shares in wearable camera maker GoPro slid after the company announced late on Thursday that it has fallen further into losses and downgraded its sales guidance for the year.

On the upside, Herbalife advanced after posting better-than-expected first-quarter results on Thursday.

Cigna Corp declined despite raising its outlook for the year and reporting first quarter earnings that beat forecasts.

Madison Square Garden edged lower as it widened its loss in the first quarter to $60m from $11.5m a year earlier.

In currencies, the dollar rose 0.28% against the pound, fell 0.08% versus the euro and dropped 0.50% versus the yen.