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U.S. stocks extend gains after April jobs report

Xinhua,May 08, 2018 Adjust font size:

NEW YORK, May 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded higher in the morning session on Monday as Wall Street continued to digest the country's nonfarm payrolls report for April.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 182.86 points, or 0.75 percent, to 24,445.37. The S&P 500 added 15.75 points, or 0.59 percent, to 2,679.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 71.84 points, or 1.00 percent, to 7,281.45.

With no major economic data due on Monday, investors were still sifting through the country's April jobs data. U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 164,000 in April, missing market consensus of 195,000, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The unemployment rate edged down to 3.9 percent in April, notching the lowest level since December 2000.

In April, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 4 cents to 26.84 U.S. dollars. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 67 cents, or 2.6 percent.

"This is a classic two-sided, something-to-please-everyone employment report. On one side there's the weak rise in payrolls and weakness in average hourly earnings. On the other, a shrinking labor force and a significant drop in the unemployment rate. The best way to sum it up in a consistent way is to conclude that the job market is tight," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial.

Meanwhile, several Federal Reserve members, including Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan, are slated to speak later on Monday, which could give further clues to the direction of interest rates.

Rising oil prices also provided some upward jolts to the market. Oil prices climbed to their highest levels since late-2014 on Monday, with U.S. oil trading above 70 dollars a barrel for the first time since November 2014, as traders eyed a looming decision on whether the United States will re-impose sanctions on Iran.

On Friday, U.S. stocks reversed early losses to end sharply higher, with all major indices jumping over 1 percent, as investors digested a slew of economic data as well as corporate earnings reports. Enditem

 

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