Dow ends up 1.5% on jobs rebound
Stocks staged a strong rally Friday as the government reported job gains rebounded in April, giving investors hope that March's disappointing jobs report was temporary.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended 1.5% higher, a gain of 267 points, to 18,191.11. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 1.4% -- 28 points -- to 2116.10. It is close to its record closing high of 2117.69, set April 24.
Rising 1.2% -- 58 points -- was the Nasdaq composite index. It cleared the 5000 mark to finish at 5003.55.
Investors cheered the news that employers resumed a healthy pace of hiring as the economy added 223,000 jobs in April. That was significantly higher than job gains in March that were revised down to 85,000 from the previously reported 126,000.
The unemployment rate fell from 5.5% to 5.4%, hitting the lowest level since May 2008.
The rally was broad based. All 30 stocks in the Dow index rose, and all 10 of the S&P sectors gained, with materials and energy leading the way.
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Chris Williamson, chief economist of Markit, wrote to clients that the report suggests "that the soft-patch seen earlier in the year was temporary." Many economists expect the government to revise down its 0.2% estimate of first-quarter economic growth to a 0.3% contraction.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped to 2.14% from 2.18% late Thursday. Oil prices rose as U.S. benchmark crude gained 0.8% to $59.43 a barrel.
European markets also rallied on news that British Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party gained enough seats for an outright majority, insuring Cameron remains as prime minister.
The British pound soared, rising as much as 2.2% against the euro and gaining more than 1% against the U.S. dollar. Britain's FTSE 100 index surged 2.3%.
Other European stocks were also up: France's CAC 40 jumped 2.5% and Germany's DAX gained 2.7%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index was up 0.5% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.1%. The Shanghai Composite rose 2.3%.
Contributing: Paul Davidson
