US Stock Market LIVE Updates: S&P 500 rises, heads for weekly gain after stable jobs data

US Stock Market LIVE Updates: Sluggish hiring last month closed out a year of weak employment gains that have frustrated job seekers, even as layoffs and unemployment have also been low.

Employers added just 50,000 jobs in December, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56,000 in November, the Labour Department said Friday (January 9). The unemployment rate slipped to 4.4%, its first decline since June, from 4.5% in November, a figure also revised lower.

All three major indices remain

on track for weekly gains, with the S&P 500 up nearly 1%, while the Dow Jones and Nasdaq Composite have added about 1.8% and 1.1%, respectively.

Stay tuned for key live updates as the US trading session unfolds.