Stocks rose on Friday, trimming the week’s losses, as August jobs report It came as expected. The data eased fears that a hotter labor market may give the Federal Reserve leeway to get stronger with higher interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 335 points, or 1.1%. S&P 500 advances 1.2% to climb over Level 4000 after diving under it earlier this week for the first time since July. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.3%, and was on course to interrupt five consecutive days of losses.
With that said, the major averages are still ending the week lower, reaching a third consecutive negative week after pulling back in the last days of August. The Dow Jones reduced its week-to-week decline to less than 1%. The S&P and Nasdaq are on track to close the week down 1% and 1.8%, respectively.
Investors were relieved by the highly anticipated jobs report, which showed the economy Added 315,000 jobs For the month, a little less Dow Jones’ rating of 318,000. Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, described it as a “Goldilocks” report.
“Not too hot. Not too cold. It’s close to expectations. Nothing here accommodates 75 [basis points] He said, “Off the table, a figure that is within expectations doesn’t change anything. What we are seeing now is a relief rally.”
The unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, a tenth of a percentage point higher than expectations. The August report is particularly important because it is one of the last major economic reports that the Federal Reserve will evaluate before it raises interest rates at its September meeting. This data point can help the central bank determine whether to raise by 75 basis points.
The last important economic report is the August CPI on September 13th and likely to be determined How aggressive the Fed should be in the near term.
Stocks were affected by hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials suggesting that interest rate hikes will not fade any time soon. Now, traders are watching to see if stocks will retest their June lows, especially since September is a historically weak month for the market.
And shares of retailer Lululemon jumped about 10% after that Reporting quarterly results that beat Wall Street expectations.
CNBC’s Patti Doom contributed to this report.
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