US STOCKS-Wall St barely gains after mixed U.S. jobs data

(Updates to close)
* U.S. adds 130,000 jobs in August, earnings gained 0.4%
* Dow up 0.26%, S&P rises 0.09%, Nasdaq falls 0.17%

By Sinéad Carew
NEW YORK, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Dow industrials
closed slightly higher on Friday as investors digested a mixed
U.S. jobs report and bet on a Federal Reserve interest rate cut
this month, while China's stimulus plan helped ease some
concerns around global growth.
U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in August, with
retail hiring declining for a seventh straight month, but this
was countered by strong wage gains which are expected to support
consumer spending and keep the economy expanding moderately amid
rising threats from trade tensions. Also on Friday, speaking at the University of Zurich, Fed
Chair Jerome Powell said the labor market was strong and the
central bank will continue to "act as appropriate" to sustain
economic expansion. He also said the United States and the world
economy are not likely to fall into recession. "The report showed steadiness in the job market, albeit not
a lot of growth. The jobs report gave enough weakness for the
Fed to cut 25 basis points this month but not enough that the
Fed would start flashing a recession warning," said Joseph
Sroka, chief investment officer at NovaPoint in Atlanta.
"Until we get into October and there's solid company data
again, the market's going to be gyrating based on economic and
geopolitical headlines."
Earlier, China's central bank said it would slash the amount
of cash that banks must hold as reserves, releasing a total of
900 billion yuan ($126.35 billion) in liquidity to shore up the
flagging economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 69.45 points,
or 0.26%, at 26,797.6, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 2.72 points, or
0.09%, to 2,978.72 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
13.75 points, or 0.17%, at 8,103.07.
For the week, the S&P 500 rose 1.8%, while the Dow added
1.5% and the Nasdaq gained 1.8%.
Of the S&P 500's 11 major sectors, eight ended the day with
gains. Healthcare .SPXHC was the biggest boost with a 0.3%
increase, while the technology sector was the biggest drag with
a 0.2% drop.
The communication services sector .SPLRCL was also under
pressure as Facebook Inc FB.O slipped 1.8% after U.S. state
attorneys general said they would investigate if the social
media giant stifled competition and put users at risk.
The Labor Department's nonfarm payroll data showed the
economy added 130,000 jobs in August, below expectations for a
gain of 158,000, according to a Reuters survey of economists.
While average hourly earnings gained 0.4% last month in the
largest increase since February, the annual increase dipped to
3.2% from 3.3% in July.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.46-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.09-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 53 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 57 new highs and 51 new lows.
On U.S. exchanges 6.27 billion shares changed hands compared
with the 6.75 billion average for the last 20 sessions.