Dow up more than 300 points on good jobs news
Investors cheered November’s blockbuster jobs report.
The Dow rose more than 337 points on Friday, amid gains in payrolls and wages and an unemployment rate that remains at a half-century low.
The data eased fears that trade tensions are hurting the US economy — even as new American tariffs on China are set to kick in on December 15 unless an agreement is reached before that deadline.
The Dow finished the day up more than 1.2% and 27 of the 30 Dow stocks were higher. Drug store chain Walgreens, insurer UnitedHealth and consumer products giant Procter & Gamble were the only laggards.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each rose about 1% as well. The Dow and Nasdaq trimmed their weekly losses thanks to Friday’s rally while the S&P 500 ended up slightly for the week. All three indexes are less than 1% from their all-time highs.
“There’s no evidence of an economic hit from trade/tariff uncertainty,” said Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist with Brown Brothers Harriman, in a report Friday.
The strong jobs report should allay concerns about a severe slowdown in the US economy. The labor numbers likely will keep the Federal Reserve on hold for the foreseeable future as well. The Fed meets on December 11 and is not expected to change interest rates.
“Even though higher inflation and an overheating economy are still risk factors that could drive a slowdown, current conditions show that the economy is not headed for doomsday right now,” said Steve Rick, chief economist at CUNA Mutual Group, in an e-mail to CNN Business. “The Fed shouldn’t need to make another insurance cut next week.”
