Stocks rise after strong jobs report
Stocks rose Friday after a better-than-expected U.S. jobs report, and the strong finish pushed the Standard & Poor’s 500 index to its third straight weekly gain despite some weakness earlier in the week.
The gains were widespread, and telecom and healthcare stocks helped lead the way. Overseas markets were also higher after negotiators hit a breakthrough in Britain’s efforts to leave the European Union.
Erin Browne, head of asset allocation at UBS Asset Management, said it’s encouraging that an area of strength in the U.S. job market is the manufacturing industry. It’s an indication that companies are spending more on equipment and other things to grow, something economists had been waiting years to see.
The jobs report is the last major piece of economic data before the Federal Reserve meets next week to discuss interest rate policy. Most economists expect the central bank to approve the year’s third increase in short-term rates.
Biotechnology stocks helped lead the market, and healthcare stocks in the S&P 500 rose 1.1% — one of the biggest gains of the 11 sectors that make up the index.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals jumped 7.2% to $114.46, the biggest gain in the S&P 500, after a New York Times report that an activist hedge fund has bought shares in Alexion and pushed it to do more to lift its stock price.
Technology stocks in the S&P 500 rose 0.4%. The industry has been the market’s biggest winner this year, but it stumbled recently as investors moved out of tech stocks and into companies seen as benefiting more from Washington’s push to overhaul the tax code, such as financial companies and retailers. The pullback was short-lived, and tech stocks erased their losses for the week.
Another potential source of worry for investors dissipated after Congress passed a spending bill that will prevent a government shutdown this weekend. The deal keeps the government running only until Dec. 22, though, when another deadline looms.
Stock markets in Europe climbed after negotiators reached a key agreement that allows talks to continue to the next stage for the United Kingdom to leave the EU. Investors are hoping for a smooth exit that does not disrupt global trade.
In Germany, stocks were also boosted when political parties agreed to open talks that could renew Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition.
The price of oil continued to recover from its sharp loss in the middle of the week. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 67 cents to settle at $57.36 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $1.20 to $63.40 a barrel. That helped energy stocks in the S&P 500 rise 0.9%.
Natural gas rose a penny to $2.77 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil rose 3 cents to $1.93 a gallon. Wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.72 a gallon.
Gold slipped $4.70 to settle at $1,248.40 an ounce. Silver rose 2 cents to $15.82 an ounce. Copper rose a penny to $2.98 a pound.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.37%.
The dollar ticked up to 113.51 Japanese yen from 113.13 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1768 from $1.1774, and the British pound fell to $1.3398 from $1.3465.