Stocks up on jobs growth
NEW YORK -- Energy and computer companies rallied after a better-than-expected jobs report outweighed concern banks face mounting credit losses.
Schlumberger Ltd. and Halliburton Co., the biggest oilfield services companies, gained as oil rose to a record $95.93 a barrel.
Apple Inc., Google Inc. and Intel Corp. climbed on prospects employment growth will increase consumer spending, helping the economy avoid a recession.
Merrill Lynch & Co. led financial shares to their steepest two-day loss since 2002 as the market completed its second weekly decline in two months.
The S&P 500 rose 1.21, or 0.1 percent, to 1,5 09.65 Friday, while the Dow Jones industrial average increased 27.23, or 0.2 percent, to 13,595.1. And the Nasdaq added 15.55, or 0.6 percent, to 2,810.38.
About 18 stocks gained for every 17 that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
"Energy, technology -- they have ties back to strong global growth," said Mark Bronzo, who helps manage $500 million at Nationwide Separate Accounts in Irvington, New York.
The gain of 166,000 jobs in October was almost double the forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey.
Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago, contends investors were downplaying an upbeat jobs figure.
For the week, the S&P 500 lost 1.7 percent, the Dow average retreated 1.5 percent and the Nasdaq added 0.2 percent.
Peoria-based Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest maker of earthmoving machines, added $1.45, or 2 percent, to $74.76, the steepest gain in the Dow average, on the improved economic outlook.
Schlumberger, the biggest oilfields services company, increased $2.67, or 2.8 percent, to $98.82. ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S. oil company, gained $1.36 to $84.57.
Apple, the maker of the iPod and iPhone, added 43 cents to $187.87. Google, the most-popular search engine, rallied $8.04 to $711.25.
Ford Motor Co. rose 45 cents, or 5.3 percent, to $8.95. The second-biggest U.S. automaker may have received three formal offers for its Jaguar and Land Rover businesses, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Merrill Lynch tumbled $4.91, or 7.9 percent, to $56.28, its biggest slide since Sept. 17, 2001.
Last week, Merrill revealed a $7.9 billion write-down linked to mortgage investments.
Merrill may have struck a deal with hedge funds to postpone the effect of losses linked to mortgage-backed securities, the Wall Street Journal reported. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is examining how the brokerage valued mortgage securities and how it disclosed those investments, the Journal reported, citing people close to the matter. Merrill said in a statement it doesn't believe any "inappropriate" deals occurred.