U.S. stocks opened mixed Friday as investors weighed sharply revised labor market data against fresh signals of corporate resilience. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 49.72 points, or 0.11%, to 46,058.3 in early trading. The S&P 500 edged down 3.45 points, or 0.05%, to 6,584.02, while the Nasdaq Composite added 11.24 points, or 0.05%, to 22,054.3. The small-cap Russell 2000 lagged, falling 0.36% to 239.94.

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics delivered a jolt this week, announcing that the U.S. economy created 911,000 fewer jobs between April 2024 and March 2025 than initially reported. August payrolls showed only 22,000 new jobs, while June was revised to reflect the first net loss since 2020. The revisions, based on more comprehensive quarterly data, underscored the uneven nature of the labor market recovery and amplified expectations that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates later this month, with further easing likely to follow.

“Despite the negative revisions, Mike Dickson, Head of Research at Horizon, notes that it is crucial to look beyond the headlines for context,” according to Horizon commentary. Analysts pointed out that consumer spending has remained relatively strong, averaging 2.75% growth during the period covered by the job revisions.

Corporate earnings offered a counterweight to the labor market concerns. Adobe posted fiscal third-quarter revenue of $5.99 billion, above Wall Street forecasts, with operating margins reaching 46.3%. The company highlighted accelerating adoption of its AI-enabled products, including Acrobat AI Assistant and GenStudio, which pushed AI-influenced annual recurring revenue beyond $5 billion. While shares initially rose on the results, investors expressed caution over whether pricing strategies, rather than unit growth, were driving gains.

Commodity markets reflected the broader crosscurrents. Gold futures for December delivery climbed 0.32% to $3,685.40 an ounce, while crude oil for October rose 1.86% to $63.53 a barrel, buoyed by steady demand signals.

Friday’s opening moves reflected the market’s balancing act: weighing slowing employment growth and the prospect of monetary easing against continued strength from the corporate sector. With the Fed’s policy decision looming, traders are likely to remain sensitive to incremental economic data in the weeks ahead.