NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rising modestly in early trading after a mixed employment report said that the unemployment rate fell last month but that new jobs remain scarce.
The government said unemployment in January dropped to 9.0 percent from 9.4 percent in December. But the report said that only 36,000 new jobs were created, the fewest in four months.
Before the market opened, health insurer Aetna said its fourth quarter revenues were higher than analysts expected. Its shares jumped 13 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average is up 15 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,075. The S&P 500 is up 2, or 0.1 percent, to 1,309. The Nasdaq composite index is up 5, or 0.2 percent, to 2,759.
