US: Stocks finish higher after strong jobs report
WALL Street stocks rose Friday after solid jobs data gave a reassuring picture of the economy, lifting the market to weekly gains.
The US economy added 199,000 jobs in November, while the jobless rate ticked down to 3.7 percent from 3.9 per cent, according to Department of Labor figures, better than analyst expectations.
“So far, that soft-landing is reinforced by this report,” said Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist at Edward Jones. “The labor market remains strong but it’s slightly easing.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 36,247.87, up 0.4 per cent for the day and eking out a weekly gain.
The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.4 per cent to 4,604.37, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.5 per cent to 14,403.97.
The solid jobs report comes on the heels of other employment data this week that had suggested a cooling in the labor market.
The figures likely reflect a boost from workers returning to the job after labor strikes, but could also lead the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note pushed higher.
Kourkafas cited strong consumer confidence data also released Friday as a positive catalyst, noting that the report from the University of Michigan showed improving sentiment about inflation. AFP
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