U.S. stocks rise; Dow tops 14,000 and ends up 1.08% on jobs data
Published Feb 01, 2013 04:28PM ET
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1.08%, the S&P 500 index was up 1.01%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 1.18%.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported earlier that the economy added a net 157,000 jobs in January, roughly in line with expectations for a gain of 160,000.
December's numbers were revised to 196,000 from 155,000, while November's figures were revised to 247,000 from 161,000.
The headline unemployment rate rose to 7.9% from 7.8% in December.
Elsewhere, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading of its consumer sentiment index improved to 73.8 in January from 71.3 the previous month, beating expectations for a reading of 71.5.
Separately, the Institute of Supply Management said that its manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 53.1 last month from 50.2 in December, well above expectations for a rise to 50.6.
Adding to the rally were continued expectations for the Federal Reserve will make no change to its monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program, a stimulus tool known as quantitative easing that pushes up stock prices and weakens the dollar as side effects.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Bank of America, up 3.45%, United Technologies up 2.58%, and Verizon Communications, up 2.16%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Merck, down 3.33%, Hewlett-Packard, down 0.30%, and Exxon Mobil, which was up 0.09%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished higher.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.26%, France's CAC 40 rose 1.10%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished up 0.74%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 1.12%.
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Written By: Investing.com
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