US stocks fall after mixed July jobs report

Wall Street stocks fell in opening trade Friday after a mixed July jobs report showing the US economy added fewer jobs than expected as unemployment held steady at 5.3 percent.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,373.18, down 46.57 (0.27 percent).

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 6.18 (0.30 percent) to 2,077.38, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 25.53 (0.50 percent) to 5,030.91.

The July jobs gain of 215,000 came in a bit below the 229,000 projected by analysts. However, the government upgraded its estimate for June to 231,000 from 223,000.

"There are some openings to pick holes in this report," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare, who nonetheless expects the US Federal Reserve to lift interest rates soon.

"The understanding that the report was not decidedly weak is apt to keep the Federal Reserve on a desired track to raise the fed funds rate soon -- and most likely in September in our estimation."