Blue chip stocks on Wall Street closed above 11,000 at the end of the week for the first time since early May.In a reversal of logic, investors viewed the grim September jobs report as positive, as it could signal further stimulus moves by the US Federal
Blue chip stocks on Wall Street closed above 11,000 at the end of the week for the first time since early May.
In a reversal of logic, investors viewed the grim September jobs report as positive, as it could signal further stimulus moves by the US Federal Reserve.
Non-farm payrolls shed 95,000 jobs in September, more than economists' forecasts for a decline of 10,000. The unemployment rate, expected to tick up to 9.7%, remained steady at the August rate of 9.6%.
The Dow Jones industrial Average gained 57.90 points, or 0.5%, to 11006.48. For the week, it rose 1.6% and has posted gains in five out of the last six weeks. The Dow is up 2% in October and 5.6% year-to-date.
Alcoa was the Dow's biggest gainer, surging 5.7% after kicking off the earnings season on Thursday with results that exceeded analysts' expectations. It also lifted its forecast for global aluminum demand in 2010.
Caterpillar jumped 2.1%, Walt Disney rose 1.8% and Procter & Gamble gained 1.7% to help power the Dow's gains.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8% to 2401.91 and gained 1.3% for the week. The S&P 500 index gained 0.6% to 1165.15, as the materials, energy and consumer-discretionary sectors fueled the rise. The broad index is up 2.1% in October.
Other markets: Europe, Asia down
European stock markets finished the week mostly lower. The Europe Stoxx 600 index ended down 0.02% at 262.27, but posted a gain of 1.2% for the week.
The UK’s FTSE 100 index edged down 0.1% to 5657.61, but closed up 1.2% for the week, its sixth weekly gain in the past seven.
The French CAC 40 lost 0.2% to 3763.18, but rose 1.9% for the week. Renault fell 2.4% after surging a day earlier on news it had sold a portion of its stake in Swedish truck group Volvo.
Germany’s DAX-30 index bucked the trend to end up 0.3% – and 1.3% for the week – at 6291.67, helped by a 3.2% gain in Commerzbank.
Chinese stocks delivered their best percentage gain in more than four months, while Japanese shares were weighed down by a strong yen.
Chinese stocks delivered their best percentage gain in more than four months to tower over mostly lower Asian markets.
Several resource shares jumped by the 10% daily limit in response to a recent rally in commodities as trading resumed after the week-long Golden Week holiday. The Shanghai Composite rose 3.1% to 2738.74.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 1% to 9588.88, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.2% to 4681.41, Korea's Kospi shed 0.2% to 1897.07, Taiwan's Taiex gave up 0.5% to 8244.19 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tacked on 0.3% to 22,944.18.
India's Sensex fell 0.3% to 20,250.26 and Singapore's Straits Times Index gave up 0.4% to 3153.34.
Commodities: Oil, gold up
Crude oil futures prices settled higher, lifted by weakness in the dollar and concerns that a continuing strike at a French oil port may begin crimping supplies.
Prices rebounded after a strong sell-off on Thursday after crude hit a five-month high above $US84 a barrel.
Light, sweet crude oil for November delivery settled at $US82.66 a barrel, up 1.2%, or 99USc after Thursday’s big drop of $US1.56 a barrel.
Gold futures rallied as the US employment figures bumped up expectations of further monetary easing.
The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, rose $US10.30, or 0.8%, to settle at $US1,345.30 an ounce in New York.
Currencies: Dollar down, yen up
The US dollar dropped to a 15-year low against the yen as speculation swirled that the Fed may soon act to stimulate a sagging economy. The dollar fell to as low as ¥81.72 and weakened against the other currencies.
The euro was at $US1.3929 from $US1.3912 late on Thursday. The dollar was at ¥82.08 from ¥82.40 after having weakened as far as ¥81.72. The euro was at ¥114.33 from ¥114.63.
The UK pound was at $US1.5953 from $US1.5863 and the dollar was at 0.9637 Swiss francs from 0.9669.
