Stocks swing to huge gains after jobs report, trade talks
NEW YORK (AP) >> Global stocks soared Friday and reversed the big losses they suffered just a day earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 746 points in the latest twist in a wild three months for markets.
Hopes for progress in the U.S.- China trade dispute, a strong report on the U.S. jobs market and encouraging comments from the head of the U.S. central bank about its interest rate policy all combined to cheer investors.
China’s Commerce Ministry said trade talks will be held Monday and Tuesday in Beijing, and investors will again look for signs the world’s largest economic powers are resolving their dispute. The tensions have dragged on for nearly a year, slowing business and dragging down stock indexes worldwide.
Meanwhile the Labor Department said U.S. employers added 312,000 jobs last month, a far stronger result than experts had anticipated. U.S. stocks have tumbled since October as investors worried that the economy might slow down dramatically because of challenges including the trade dispute and rising interest rates.
The stock market’s plunge also threatened to shake up the confidence and the spending plans of businesses and consumers. Some analysts said investors were acting as if a recession was on the horizon, despite a lack of evidence that the U.S. economy is struggling.
“It’s hard to square recession worries with the stron- gest job growth we’ve seen in years,” said Alec Young, managing director of global markets research for FTSE Russell.
Stocks rose even further after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will be flexible in deciding if and when it raises interest rates. He added that the Fed is open to making changes in the way it shrinks its giant portfolio of bonds, which affects rates on long-term loans such as mortgages.
Until recently, the Fed had suggested it planned to raise short-term interest rates three times this year and next, and Powell said the Fed’s balance sheet was shrinking “on auto-pilot.” Wall Street feared that the Fed might be moving too fast in raising borrowing costs, said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors.
The Fed’s interest-rate and bond portfolio policies “were at the top of the list of things we were concerned about, which is why the statement Powell made today is so supportive of the market,” Orlando said. “The Fed understands that what they attempted to communicate last monthwas inartful, that they didn’t get the right message across, and Powell tried to reset.”
The S& P 500 index climbed 84.05 points, or 3.4 percent, to 2,531.94, more than wiping out Thursday’s loss. The Dow rose 3.3 percent to 23,433.16 after gaining 832 during the afternoon. The Nasdaq composite jumped 275.35 points, or 4.3 percent, to 6,738.86.
About 90 percent of the stocks on the NewYork Stock Exchange traded higher. in times of faster economic
Stocks sank Thursday afgrowth. ter Apple said iPhone sales in Smaller and more U.S.-foChina are falling, partly becused companies did even cause of the trade fight, and better than larger multinaa survey suggested U.S. factionals. The Russell 2000 tories grew at a weaker pace. index surged 49.92 points, Technology companies took or 3.8 percent, to 1,380.75. their biggest losses in seven Smaller companies have years. fallen further than larger
The U.S. and China have ones in the last few months raised tariffs on billions of as investors got nervous dollars of each other’s goods about how the U. S. econin a fight over issues includomy will perform in 2019 ing Beijing’s technology poland 2020. icy. Last month, President Stocks have whipsawed Donald Trump and Chinese between huge gains and leader Xi Jinping agreed to losses for the last few weeks 90-day ceasefire as a step toafter their big December ward defusing tensions, but plunge. Katie Nixon, the that failed to calm the stock chief investment officer market. for Northern Trust Wealth
Technology companies, Management, said investors banks, health care and inwill continue to react to the dustrial companies all health of the economy, and made strong gains. Most of to concerns about high levthe companies in those inels of corporate debt as industries stand to do better terest rates rise.