Stocks are looking at a mixed open this morning.

The economic scenario is helping the broader market, while techs are generally weak, with names such as Cisco Systems Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc. sliding

The hotly-anticipated U.S. jobs report came in a little better than expected. Non-farm payrolls came in down 42,000 jobs, with unemployment at 4.5%. Consensus was for about 55,000 jobs to vanish, pushing unemployment to 4.7%. Average hourly earnings were up 0.3% in July, too. June payroll losses were also revised downward.

The report is generally positive for the U.S. economy, after traders had braced for the worst. Although, some had hoped for a brutal number that would spark more aggressive action on interest rates.

Economic worry warts also got some cheer in the news that Argentine situation looks a little better after a U.S. Treasury Department official endorsed a plan to speed up payments from a US$7 billion credit line from the International Monetary Fund.

Stocks in Europe are mixed. Media companies are weak on profit concerns due to low advertising. Also, Unilever, one of the world’s biggest consumer firms, reported a 36% drop in profit for its second quarter.

The FTSE is down 42 points this morning to 5,542. The CAC 40 is off by 34 points to 5,055. The DAX is making a modest effort to buck the trend, up four points to 5,781.

The early tech stock weakness took its toll in Asia overnight, however. The Nikkei finished the week down 157 points to 1,222. The Hang Seng dropped 197 points to 12,269.

There’s also some takeover talk this morning. Tyco International Ltd. has agreed to buy Sensormatic Electronics Corp. for about US$2.3 billion in stock and debt.

Irish billionaire Tony O’Reilly has raised his bid for Eircom plc to US$2.7 billion, topping an offer by rival Denis O’Brien.