Stock Market Watch

Stocks Rally; S&P 500 Closes at Record High Level

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Stocks rallied in trading on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones rising to record levels. Stocks surged as investors’ sentiment was lifted by better than expected nonfarm payrolls data.

Figures released by the Labor Department earlier today showed that U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in April, above the economists’ forecast of 135,000 job additions. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dropped to 7.50%.

The better than expected labor market data pushed the Dow Jones above the 15,000 level and the S&P 500 above 1,600 level. Both indexes crossed the respective levels for the first time ever. While the Dow Jones failed to hold on to above 15,000 level, the S&P 500 closed above 1,600 level for the first time ever.

The Dow Jones ended the day 0.96% higher at 14,973.96, the S&P 500 ended the day 1.05% higher at 1,614.42, and the Nasdaq ended the day 1.14% higher at 3,378.63.

For the week, the Dow Jones rose 1.78%, the S&P 500 rose 2.02%, and the Nasdaq rose 3.02%.

Among the major gainers on Friday were Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), which ended the day 1.57% higher at $90.02, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), which ended the day 1.94% higher at $845.72, and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which ended the day 1% higher at $449.98.

European markets also rallied on Friday, with the FTSE 100 Index in London closing 0.94% higher, and the CAC 40 Index in Paris closing 1.40% higher. Asian markets ended on a mixed note overnight, with the Nikkei 225 Index in Japan closing 0.76% lower, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong closing 0.10% higher.

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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.

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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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