NEW YORK, Jan 5, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - US stocks opened mixed Thursday morning, continuing a lackluster start to the trading year, as traders digested data showing that the private sector added more jobs than anticipated last month.

The world's largest economy saw private sector employment rise by 164,000 jobs in December, payroll firm ADP said Thursday, signaling a strong labor market could continue to support the economy despite higher interest rates.

Around 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3 percent at 37,523.14, and the broad-based S&P 500 was flat at 4,704.64.

The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index extended its recent downward trajectory, falling 0.3 percent to 14,545.29.

The yield on the popular 10-year treasury jumped, closing in on four percent amid speculation that the Federal Reserve may be less ambitious with rate cuts than traders had been hoping for.

"Treasury yields are higher on rate-cut angst," Briefing.com's Patrick O'Hare wrote in a note.

"That is, there is some budding angst that the Fed might not cut rates as much as expected," he added.

Among individual stocks, tech giant Apple saw its share price continue to fall following another analyst downgrade.

And Walgreens saw its share price plummet after announcing it was slashing dividends.