FINANCIAL MARKETS
NEW YORK—Stocks rose Friday following 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 health care stocks helped lead the way. Overseas markets were also higher after negotiators hit a breakthrough in the United Kingdom’s efforts to leave the European Union.
The S&P 500 rose 14.52 points, or 0.6 percent, to finish at 2,651.50, another record. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 117.68, or 0.5 percent, to 24,329.16, and the Nasdaq composite rose 27.24, or 0.4 percent, to 6,840.08.
The U.S. jobs report, which is the economic highlight of each month, showed that employers added 228,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate remained at a low 4.1 percent. It’s the latest evidence that the U.S. economy continues to improve, in sync with the rest of the world. Paychecks, though, have not been getting much bigger, and hourly wages rose less last month than economists expected. Higher pay would help workers spend more, but it could also lead to higher inflation.
She said that it’s encouraging that an area of strength in the job market is the manufacturing industry. It’s an indication that companies are spending more on equipment and other things to grow, something that 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 it to approve the third increase in short-term rates for the year. Technology stocks in the S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent. The industry has been the market’s biggest winner this year, but it had 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.
The price of oil continued to recover from its sharp loss in the middle of the week. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 67 cents to settle at $57.36 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $1.20 to $63.40 per barrel. That helped energy stocks in the S&P 500 rise 0.9 percent. Natural gas added a penny to $2.77 per 1,000 cubic feet, heating oil gained 3 cents to $1.93 per gallon and wholesale gasoline added 2 cents to $1.72 per gallon.