A drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest in three years propelled the Dow Jones industrial average Friday to its highest close since before the 2008 financial crisis. The Nasdaq composite index hit an 11-year high.
The Dow jumped 156.82 points to 12,862.23, its highest mark since May 19, 2008, about four months before Lehman Brothers investment bank collapsed.
Before the market opened, the Labor Department said the economy added 243,000 jobs in January. It was the strongest job growth in nine months. The increase in hiring pushed the unemployment rate down to 8.3 percent, the lowest since February 2009.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 19.36 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,344.90, its highest close since last July. The S&P 500 surged 2.2 percent for the week, its fifth straight week of gains. That's the longest weekly winning stretch since January of 2011. Bank of America led the 30 stocks in the Dow, rising 5.2 percent. Only two stocks were lower: Merck and Procter & Gamble.
Treasury prices fell, lifting the yield on the 10-year note Treasury to 1.93 percent. When bond prices fall, yields rise. The benchmark 10-year rate had traded below 1.79 percent earlier this week as traders bought U.S. Treasurys on renewed concern over Europe's ongoing debt crisis.
Stock futures outlook feb 6 2012
Dow Jones industrial average + 2.00
Standard & Poor's 500 index + 2.5
Nasdaq composite index + 7.0
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S&P 500 feb 6 2012, down jones feb 6 2012, Nasdaq feb 6 2012, dow jones futures february 6 2012 For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today
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