NEW YORK, Jan 7 — Wall Street stocks edged higher early today following a monthly employment report that showed disappointing job growth even as unemployment fell.

The much-anticipated December jobs report said the US economy added only 199,000 jobs last month, less than half of analyst estimates and a worrisome data point given the latest Covid-19 wave in the United States.

But the lacklustre number of new jobs created was offset somewhat by a bigger-than-expected drop in the unemployment rate to 3.9 per cent. Wage growth was strong, also indicative of a tight labour market.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was unchanged at 36,248.07.

The broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.2 per cent to 4,704.80, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.4 per cent to 15,142.25.

Oxford Economics analyst Gregory Daco characterised the December figures as "mixed,” adding that they pose challenges for a Federal Reserve that wants to tighten monetary policy due to inflation.

"Sounding excessively hawkish could appear tone-deaf, leading to an uncontrolled tightening of financial conditions and negative spillovers to economic activity. — AFP