Stocks inch higher after positive jobs report

Stocks closed modestly higher after the government’s monthly report on employment bolstered hopes that the economic recovery is on track.

The gains were tempered by news that a big debt write-down by Greece could cause big losses for some banks.

Three years after stocks hit bottom during the Great Recession, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 14 points and finished the week with a loss of about 56.

That was after a 203point dive Tuesday, the worst drop so far this year.

The Dow climbed more than 60 points Friday morning but lost ground in the afternoon after the trade group that oversees financial derivatives said Greece’s bond-swap deal will trigger payouts on bond insurance.

The Dow finished up 14.08 points, or 0.1%, at 12,922.02.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 4.96, and the Nasdaq gained 17.92. The Dow has nearly doubled in the three years since its bottom during the financial crisis. On March 9, 2009, it closed at 6,547. The S&P 500 closed that day at 676.

“There’s a lot less imbalance and a lot less uncertainty than there was three years ago,” said John Canally, investment strategist with LPL Financial Corp. Canally said the odds of another recession have been dropping as the economic recovery strengthens and becomes less vulnerable to shocks.