Stocks surge on strong jobs report

Banks and other financial companies made big gains Friday after President Trump moved to scale back financial regulations. Other stocks also rose as investors were pleased that employers hired workers at a faster pace in January.

The Labor Department said hiring sped up last month, a positive sign for the economy. Small-company stocks, which stand to benefit more than others from stronger economic growth, made sharp gains.

Financial companies are “going to benefit from not having all of this onerous red tape,” said Karyn Cavanaugh of Voya Investment Strategies. “That’s why we see the rallies every time they talk about regulation.”

Cavanaugh said a reduction in regulations also could help banks lend more and speed up economic growth, which could benefit many other industries.

JPMorgan Chase rose 3.1% to $87.18, and Goldman Sachs climbed 4.6% to $240.95. Morgan Stanley jumped 5.5% to $44.43. Smaller banks, which could find it easier to lend money if regulations are cut, also traded higher. East West Bancorp rose 4.5% to $52.72.

Visa said shoppers stepped up their use of debit and credit cards last quarter. The payment processing company also benefited from its acquisition of Visa Europe. Its profit and revenue were stronger than analysts expected, and Visa’s stock jumped 4.6% to $86.08.

Online retail giant Amazon fell 3.5% to $810.20 as investors grew concerned about its sales. The company’s fourth-quarter sales fell short of analyst estimates, as did its forecast for revenue in the current quarter.

Biotech drugmaker Amgen climbed 5% to $167.53 after it disclosed a bigger profit and better sales than analysts expected. It also reported results from a study that showed its new cholesterol drug, Repatha, reduced the risk of death, heart attack and stroke in patients with advanced atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. That could boost prescriptions for the drug.

GoPro dropped 12.7% to $9.58 after the camera maker reported weak fourth-quarter sales and issued a disappointing forecast.

Hanesbrands slumped 16.4% to $18.98, its lowest price in almost three years, after the maker of underwear and socks announced surprisingly weak holiday sales and gave disappointing projections for the year.

Bond prices turned higher. The yield on the 10year Treasury note fell to 2.47% from 2.48%.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 29 cents to $53.83 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 25 cents to $56.81 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.55 a gallon. Heating oil rose 1 cent to $1.67 a gallon. Natural gas fell 12 cents, or 3.9%, to $3.06 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $1.40 to $1,220.80 an ounce. Silver rose 5 cents to $17.48 an ounce. Copper fell 7 cents, or 2.6%, to $2.62 a pound.

The dollar rose to 112.96 yen from 112.70 yen. The euro rose to $1.0765 from $1.0764.