New York: US stocks surged to their best levels of the year after a much-awaited July jobs report was better than expected, signaling a likely turnaround in the long and painful recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average vaulted 113.81 points
(1.23 percent) to end at 9,370.07, its highest level since
November 4.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite leapt 27.09 points (1.37
percent) to 2,000.25.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index, measuring the broader
market, advanced 13.40 points (1.34 percent) to 1,010.48.
The blue-chip Dow nailed its fourth consecutive week of
gains and has now climbed nearly 45 percent from its low in
early March.
Stocks wobbled in early trading but quickly found their
footing in upward momentum.
The Labor Department's report, published before the
market open, "brought positive surprises all around," said
Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.
"These are headlines that should warm the (Obama)
administration in Washington and they will engender confidence
in the idea that the worst of the downturn is over."
The data showed the unemployment rate fell unexpectedly
to 9.4 percent in July as job losses in the month narrowed to
247,000.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, August 08, 2009, 09:51