US equities edge upwards on job gains US equities edged higher in early morning trading on Friday after a much anticipated non-farm payroll report showed that the labour market recovery strengthened in February. The US economy added 227,000 jobs last month and unemployment remained steady at 8.3 per cent. The January figures were also revised upwards by 60,000 jobs. The S&P 500 ticked up 0.2 per cent to $1,368.92 in New York. After having its worst day in almost three months on Tuesday, the benchmark index is now down just 0.1 per cent for the week. We had seen a little weakness in the surveys leading up to today's report and there was a bit of growing concern that we would miss the consensus number. But it came in line with expectations and the story continues to be that the economy is improving," said Brad Sorensen, director of market research at Charles Schwab. We are starting to see a bit of a move away from the risk on, risk off mentality that dominated last year. We still have a way to go, but are the starting signs are there. Financials were slightly up following reports from late Thursday night that confirmed at least 85 per cent of Greek bondholders had agreed to participate in the €206bn debt exchange. JPMorgan gained 1 per cent to $40.83 and Citigroup rose 1.1 per cent to $34.39. The oil and gas explorer Anadarko Petroleum added 3.3 per cent to $86.38 after reports that it had resolved a tax dispute in Algeria. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 per cent to 12,928.76. Walmart , the world's largest retailer by sales, was up 0.5 per cent to $60.05 on the blue-chip heavy index. The Nasdaq 500 gained 0.2 per cent to 2,976.50. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters tumbled by 15.5 per cent to $52.70 after its rival coffee-maker Starbucks announced plans to introduce a single-cup coffee system. Starbucks rose 2 per cent to $51.37. "We would use any overreaction to the obvious move by Starbucks to enter automated espresso as a buying opportunity in [Green Mountain] during a period when [the company] just enjoyed incredible momentum during the holiday selling season," said Scott Van Winkle, retail analyst at Canaccord, who reiterated the firm's "buy" rating on Green Mountain shares. Renren , the Chinese social networking site, was up 6.5 per cent to $5.70 after the Facebook rival said it swung to a profit in its fourth quarter.