Stock Market Watch

Stocks Rally on Strong Jobs Report

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Stocks rose sharply in trading today as a better than expected jobs report lifted investors’ sentiment. According to figures released by the Labor Department earlier today, the U.S. economy added 243,000 jobs in the month of January as the unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to 8.3%.

The stronger than expected boosted demand for riskier assets. All three major indexes finished near session highs. The Dow Jones ended the day 1.23% higher at 12,862.23, the S&P 500 ended the day 1.46% higher at 1,344.90, and the Nasdaq ended the day 1.61% higher at 2,905.66. The Nasdaq today rose to an 11-year high.


All sectors in the S&P 500 finished the day near session highs. The gains in the S&P 500 were led by Consumer Cyclical stocks, which ended the day 2.32% higher. Industrials ended the day 2.24% higher. Financials ended the day 2.01% higher. Basic Materials stocks finished the day 0.93% higher, while Energy stocks finished the day 1.31% higher.

Among the major gainers in trading today were Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: THLD), which ended the day 131.78% higher at $2.99, Zoltek Companies Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT), which ended the day 38.44% higher at $13.11, Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), which ended the day 2.98% higher at $7.95, Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD), which ended the day 10.92% higher at $54.69, Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN), which ended the day 4.08% higher at $19.38, Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW), which ended the day 14.05% higher at $9.17, and Jive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: JIVE), which ended the day 14.78% higher at $17.09.

European markets also rose sharply in trading, with all major indexes in the region ending higher. The EURO STOXX 50 Index ended the day 1.49% higher at 2,515.15. Asian markets ended on a mixed note earlier today.

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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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