US: Stocks rally near record on strong jobs report

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks jumped Friday, with the S&P 500 barely missing a new record, after data showed the American economy added a surprisingly robust 287,000 jobs in June.

Helping to allay fears the US economy was slowing significantly, the jobs report "gave buyers the all-clear sign today," said Michael James at Wedbush Securities.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 1.5 per cent to 2,129.90, less than one point below the record set in May 2015.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.4 per cent to 18,146.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.6 per cent to 4,956.76.

The gains were fairly-broad based and comprised the banking, industrial and energy sector, with the latter propelled by a rise in oil prices.

"Today's report quells any concerns of a broader economic slowdown in the US," said analysts at Nomura Global Economics in a client note.

Several retailers rose after Gap reported that net sales for June rose 2 per cent to US$1.57 billion, with sales particularly strong at its Old Navy chain.

Gap jumped 5 per cent, while Best Buy climbed 1.1 per cent, Dow member Home Depot 2.4 per cent, Macy's 2.2 per cent, Target 1.7 per cent and Williams-Sonoma 4.9 per cent.

Juno Therapeutics, which specialises in cancer immunotherapies, plunged 31.9 per cent on news that the US Food and Drug Administration suspended a clinical trial of a leukemia treatment after two patient deaths last week. Juno plans to submit additional information in the hopes of persuading the FDA to resume the trial.

AFP