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U.S. stocks extend rally on stronger jobs report

Xinhua, February 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks continued to rise in the morning session Friday, as investors were buoyed by better- than-expected jobs data.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 44.53 points, or 0.25 percent, to 17,929.41. The S&P 500 added 8.61 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,071.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 17.82 points, or 0.37 percent, to 4,782.92.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 257,000 in January, well above market expectations of 230,000, including the biggest increase in private-sector job creation since 1997, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.7 percent, said the U.S. Labor Department Friday.

More importantly, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 12 cents to 24.75 U.S. dollars in January, following a decrease of 5 cents in December. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.2 percent.

However, traders were also weighing that the Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, will begin raising interest rates by mid- year after the favorable jobs data. The Fed has held rates near zero since December 2008, and it reiterated in January a pledge to remain "patient" on raising rates.

"This unabashedly strong report follows on the heels of strength in November and December. The drop in average hourly pay in December, the one thing people were worried about last month, was more than resolved with an outsized increase in January. With three-month average job growth of 336,000, the Fed may start thinking about liftoff before June," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

In corporate news, Twitter's shares soared over 17 percent around midday Friday after the company beat expectations on earnings and revenue, despite disappointing user growth figures. After Thursday's closing bell, Twitter reported that its revenue for the fourth quarter of 2014 totaled 479 million dollars, an increase of 97 percent compared to 243 million dollars in the same period in 2013.

U.S. stocks jumped amid mixed data Thursday, with all the three major indices turning positive for the year, as oil prices bounced back from Wednesday's plunge. Endite