US stocks rise after strong jobs report
Wall Street stocks opened moderately higher Friday after an unexpectedly strong November employment report showed job gains across most of the economy.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 46.17 points (0.26 percent) at 17,946.27.
The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 4.40 (0.21 percent) to 2,076.32, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 15.51 (0.33 percent) at 4,784.94.
The Labor Department reported the economy added a much stronger-than-expected 321,000 jobs in November, the highest monthly number in nearly three years, and revised upward the prior two months’ gains by 44,000 jobs.
“These are all good things from an economic standpoint. The question is, will they be thought of as good things from a market standpoint since these trends, should they continue, will raise the specter of interest rate hikes… from the Fed,” said Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com in a market note.