US stocks up little, trade headline capping gains

Major US equity indices witnessed a rather mixed opening on the last trading day of the week as investors digested today's mixed July jobs report.

The latest monthly employment details showed that the US economy added 157K new jobs during the month of July, far lower than 190K anticipated, albeit was largely negated by upward revisions to the previous two months reading and a downtick in the unemployment rate, reflecting the underlying strength in the labor market. 

In the latest development over the ongoing trade spat between the world's two largest economies, China is said to impose differential tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods. The move comes after the US President Donald Trump proposed to impose 25% tariffs, as against 10% proposed previously, on around $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

With the optimism over any positive economic data being overshadowed by the incoming trade-related news, upbeat quarterly earnings results might help keep a near-term floor for the markets, at least for the time being.