Job growth report boosts stocks
NEW YORK -- Wall Street capped a huge week with a sharp advance Friday after the government's employment report for September and its revision of August's data cooled the market's fears of a recession. The Standard & Poor's 500 index, the measure most closely followed by market watchers, reached a new closing high.
The Labor Department's report that employers added 110,000 jobs in September -- essentially what analysts had expected -- reassured Wall Street that the job market wasn't pulling back sharply as was feared a month ago. Though the data appeared to lessen the likelihood of an interest rate cut when the Federal Reserve meets Oct. 30-31, investors were relieved that the economy doesn't appear headed for a precipitous slowdown.
"We're not seeing a weakening of the labor market. There's no indication that the wheels are falling off," said T.J. Marta, economic strategist at RBC Capital Markets. He contends that while the employment figures make it less likely the Fed will cut rates this month, many on Wall Street were relieved to see the economy forging ahead.
"It looks bad compared with the rip-roaring days in the housing sector but this is called normalcy."
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 91.70, or 0.66 percent, to 14,066.01. The blue chip index set a new trading high of 14,124.54, topping a high of 14,115.51 set Monday, when the index also saw a record close.
Broader stock indicators also jumped. The S&P 500 index rose 14.75, or 0.96 percent, to 1,557.59. The advance put the S&P 500 ahead of the previous record close of 1,553.08, which occurred July 19 before stocks began a broad retrenchment amid concerns about credit, housing and the overall economy. The S&P 500, which is the basis of many mutual funds and other investments and is used as a benchmark, also set a fresh trading high of 1,561.91, topping a July 16 high of 1,555.90.
The technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index showed bigger gains, rising 46.75, or 1.71 percent, to 2,780.32.
The gains left stocks sharply higher for the week. The Dow added 1.2 percent, while the S&P 500 2 percent and the Nasdaq advanced 2.9 percent. The Russell 2000 posted the biggest gains, however, jumping 4.9 percent.