Stocks climb on good news from job market

NEW YORK — Stocks closed broadly higher Thursday as investors welcomed a report showing the U.S. job market continues to climb out of the crater created by the coronavirus pandemic.

The S&P 500 ended the holiday-shortened week with a gain of 4%.

The rally wasn’t impervious to worries about the virus. News that Florida had another sharp increase in confirmed cases helped cut the S&P 500’s early gains.

Even so, investors continue to bet that the recovery will proceed.

“Right now, I don’t see a national outbreak coming, I don’t see a national shutdown,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network.

The U.S. government said employers added 4.8 million jobs to their payrolls in June. The unemployment rate remains very high at 11.1% but lower than May’s 13.3% and much better than economists expected.