US stocks end at records after strong jobs report

A strong US jobs report lifted Wall Street stocks to fresh records Friday and helped propel European equities higher.

Both the broad-based S&P 500 and the tech-rich Nasdaq finished at all-time highs after the Labor Department reported a big gain in jobs in July and upgraded employment estimates for the prior two months.

Each of the major US indices rose about one percent including the Dow, which ended only 12 points away from a record of its own.

"The US economy may not be going gangbusters but it remains the best equity alternative of any worldwide index," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities.

"The most important takeaway from a better jobs report is an indication of a continued grind higher in the US economy."

Meanwhile, the London stock market rose 0.8 percent to above 6,800 for the first time in 14 months, as European equities built on earlier gains seen after the Bank of England Thursday announced an interest rate cut and surprise stimulus in response to the British vote to leave the European Union.

Paris and Frankfurt both rose about 1.5 percent. 

The Labor Department said the US economy added 255,000 jobs in July, easily topping the analyst forecast for an increase of 185,000 payrolls. It also reported growth in hourly wages, a weak point in some earlier reports that have shown employment growth.

The strong report helped markets shrug off some lackluster US data of late, including a report a week ago that estimated second-quarter growth at just 1.2 percent.

"This was good economic data, replete with strong and relatively broad-based job growth, higher wage growth and an increase in the average workweek," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

"The economy does appear to be stable and on a slightly more upwards trajectory," said David Levy, portfolio manager at Republic Wealth Advisors.

- Dollar rises -

The jobs report also boosts the odds of a Federal Reserve interest rate increase this year, but probably not before December, analysts said.

That expectation accentuated movements in the foreign exchange market following the British monetary stimulus, boosting the dollar at the expense of the euro and the pound.

"Hotter than expected wage growth was really the icing on the cake of the very strong data, which has pushed up the odds of the Fed raising lending rates in the months ahead," said Omer Esiner of Commonwealth Foreign Exchange.

Banking shares rallied on expectations of higher US interest rates. JPMorgan Chase gained 2.7 percent, Bank of American 3.9 percent and Citigroup 4.3 percent.

Technology shares were also generally higher, with Dow members Apple and IBM climbing 1.5 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

Bristol-Myers Squibb plunged 16.0 percent after announcing that a clinical trial of its Opdivo drug to treat lung cancer failed. The news boosted Dow member Merck, which has a competing drug, pushing shares up a hefty 10.4 percent.

- Key figures at around 2100 GMT -

New York - DOW: UP 1.0 percent at 18,543.53 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.9 at 2,182.87 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.1 percent at 5,221.12 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 6,793.47 points (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.4 percent at 10,367.21 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.5 percent at 4,410.55 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.4 percent at 2,973.71 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 16,254.45 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 2,976.70 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 1.4 percent at 22,146.09 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1087 from $1.1131 Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3072 from $1.3114

Dollar/yen: UP at 101.79 yen from 101.22 yen

Source: AFP