Dow gains after happy jobs reportFriday, February 03, 2012 4:23 PM ESTIn New York, stocks rallied Friday, as investors cheered a much stronger-than-expected jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrials spiked 156.82 points Friday, or 1.2%, to close out the week 12,862.20 The S&P 500 powered ahead 19.12 points to 1,344.66, while the tech-rich Nasdaq added 45.98 points to 2,905.66 The rally pushed the Dow, up more than 5% in 2012, to the highest level since May 2008. The Nasdaq, up more than 11% for the year, climbed to its highest level since December 2000. The S&P 500 has gained almost 7% this year, and is at a six-month high. Financial stocks were big gainers in Friday's rally, with Bank of America's 5% spike leading the Dow's gains. Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs were all up between 3% and 5%. Shares of Genworth Financial soared almost 15% after the mortgage insurer swung to a fourth-quarter profit. Tyson Foods shares rose after the company reported better-than-expected earnings and issued slightly upbeat guidance. Estee Lauder reported a 15% profit increase for its fiscal second quarter to $597 million U.S., but its stock tumbled as the company's guidance for the current quarter came in short of analyst expectations. Shares of Gilead Sciences spiked after the company posted fourth-quarter earnings that rose almost 6% from a year ago. Edwards Lifesciences' stock dropped as earnings fell and the company gave a lackluster forecast for the current quarter. Zynga shares continue to rise, after Facebook's IPO revealed the gamemaker accounted for 12% of its revenue in 2011. Research in Motion shares dipped after the BlackBerry-maker said it will give its tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook, out to Android developers in exchange for their apps. Shares of Micron Technology were halted after the company announced that its CEO and chairman Steve Appleton died Friday morning in a small-plane crash in Boise. On the economic ledger, the U.S. Labor Department’s monthly jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added 243,000 jobs in January, far exceeding expectations. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3%, the lowest since February 2009. Economists had expected the department to report an increase of just 130,000 jobs in January. The unemployment rate was expected to rise to 8.6%. Economists had expected a slowdown in post-holiday hiring, considering that about 40,000 temporary couriers were hired for the holidays alone. Factory orders for December rose 1.1%, slightly below expectations. The January instalment of the ISM Services Index hit 56.8, surpassing economists' expectations for 53.1, and up sharply from the prior month. Treasury prices for the 10-year note took a header, boosting yields to 1.94% from Thursday’s 1.82%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil for February delivery gained $1.16 to $97.53 U.S. a barrel. Gold futures for April delivery fell $19 to settle at $1,736.80 U.S. an ounce. |
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