U.S. MARKET AVERAGES

U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday, despite strong monthly employment data. The report showed that non-farm payroll employment rose by 215,000 in November, following a downwardly revised increase of 44,000 in October., slightly below expectations of an increase by 225,000 compared to the increase of 56,000 previously reported for October.

The Dow Jones industrial average is down 10.01 points, the S&P 500 is off 1.24 points and the Nasdaq 100 is down 1.17 points.

The biotech sector is among the worst performers in the first half hour of trading, reversing Thursday''s rally with a decline of 1.2%. Transportation stocks are also weak, led lower by losses in the trucking group.

Even with the losses elsewhere in transportation, the airline sector is ticking up in the early going, climbing by about 1.1%. The gaming space is also showing strength.

Barr Pharmaceuticals (BRL) revealed Friday that it has finalized an agreement to settle a pending patent litigation with Akzo Nobel''s (AKZOY) Organon and Savient (SVNTE) concerning Barr''s generic version of Mircette, which the company markets under the trade name Kariva. Under the deal, Barr will acquire exclusive rights to Mircette, an oral contraceptive product.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Friday morning, the Department of Labor released its report on the employment situation in the month of November, showing employment growth that came in roughly in line with economist estimates.

The report showed that non-farm payroll employment rose by 215,000 in November following a downwardly revised increase of 44,000 in October. Economists had expected payrolls to increase by 225,000 compared to the increase of 56,000 previously reported for October.

The Labor Dept. said that job growth was widespread, with large gains among construction and food service jobs. Manufacturing employment also edged up in November, increasing by about 11,000 jobs.

The closely watched report also showed that the unemployment rate came in at 5.0 percent in November, unchanged from the previous month. Economists had been expecting the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.

The data may generate some optimism about the strength of the labor market, which has been in question recently following disappointing data in September and October. The recent hurricanes and the subsequent surge in energy prices had been keeping job growth subdued.

INTERNATIONAL MARKET NEWS

Asian-Pacific benchmarks finished in the positive territory. The Nikkei hit another five-year high, climbing 1.9% to 15,421,60, boosted by strong U.S. economic data, easing inflation concerns and higher Wall Street close overnight. Among other regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.9%, Sydney’s All Ordinaries advanced 0.9%, and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.3%.

European markets advanced at mid-day dealings, pushed higher by the best performers of the day, technology stocks. Key U.S. economic news, expected later in the day, also weighed on sentiment. The German DAX 30 gained 0.3%, the CAC 40 rose 0.2%, reaching a three-year high of 4,644, and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4%. The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1709.

OIL, METALS, CURRENCIES

Crude oil prices neared $59 a barrel on U.S. cold. weather forecast. Light sweet crude for January delivery rose 19 to $58.66 a barrel in electronic trading on the Nymex. London Brent jumped 50 cents to $56.65..

European gold hit a 23-year high. In London the precious metal was fixed at $504.75 per troy ounce, up from $499.75. In Zurich gold traded at $505.05, up from $501.66. In Hong Kong gold gained $2.80 to close at $506.55. Silver traded at $8.51, up from $8.41.

The U.S. dollar advanced against its major counterparts. The euro was quoted at $1.1709, down from $1.1734. The dollar bought 120.74 yen, up from 120.46. The British pound traded at $1.7282, down from $1.7310.