Balanced News: U.S. stocks open higher after employment report shows wage growth cooling

U.S. stocks opened higher at the opening bell as investor digested an employment report that showed signs of wage growth slowing in a strong labor market. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday that the U.S. added 223,000 jobs in December, with the unemployment rate edging down to 3.5%. The rise in wages over the past year slowed to 4.6% from 4.8%, the smallest increase since the summer of 2021.