US: Stocks rise on strong July jobs report

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks rose Friday after the Labour Department reported the US economy added a better-than-expected 255,000 jobs in July.

That figure was well above analyst expectations for 185,000 jobs added. The report also upgraded the new job figures for May and June and showed a rise in average hourly pay.

"This was good economic data, replete with strong and relatively broad-based job growth, higher wage growth, and an increase in the average workweek," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 18,461.21, up 0.6 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent to 2,174.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.6 per cent to 5,194.44.

AFP