NEW YORK: The euro edged higher against the dollar and global equity markets pared losses on Friday after data showed US jobs growth slowed in August, raising chances that interest rates will stay low for a longer period than investors had expected.

The dollar fell after data showed US non-farm payrolls grew by only 142,000 last month, far below the 225,000 increase forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll. The July figure was revised upward to 209,000.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares cut some losses to close down 0.35 percent at 1,396.02, after falling as low as 1,391.39 earlier in the session. But Germany's DAX and Spain's IBEX indexes closed higher.

MSCI's all-country index fell 0.18 percent, while the Dow and S&P 500 rebounded to trade slightly higher. Investors took the surprisingly weak data as a sign the Federal Reserve will not boost rates anytime soon.

"One of the big fears of this market, maybe the only fear, has been rapidly rising interest rates. This puts an end to those thoughts in the near term," said Rick Meckler, president of hedge fund LibertyView Capital Management LLC in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.91 points, or 0.07 percent, at 17,081.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.74 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,999.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1.57 points, or 0.03 percent, at 4,560.72.

Brent was down $1.27 at $100.56 a barrel. US crude was $1.34 lower at $93.11 a barrel.