U.S. stocks trade higher amid strong jobs data
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Xinhua, May 4, 2019
NEW YORK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded higher on Friday as Wall Street cheered the newly-released robust jobs data.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 164.80 points, or 0.63 percent, to 26,472.59. The S&P 500 was up 22.47 points, or 0.77 percent, to 2,939.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 91.27 points, or 1.14 percent, to 8,128.04.
Dow's triple-digit gains were underpinned by rallying Caterpillar and Microsoft stocks. Shares of both companies rose 1.8 percent around midday.
All of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors advanced in midday trading, with both consumer discretionary and energy up more than 1.4 percent, outpacing the rest.
U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000 in April, according to the Department of Labor on Friday. The reading easily topped the 217,000 forecast of economists surveyed by MarketWatch.
Notable job gains occurred in professional and business services, construction, health care, and social assistance.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 3.6 percent in April, the lowest rate since December 1969, said the department. Enditem
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)