NEW YORK - U.S. stocks rose on Friday, boosted by better-than-expected job growth in March, which eased concerns of an economic slowdown that have periodically roiled financial markets over the past year.
The Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls rose by 196,000 jobs in March, topping the 180,000 new jobs forecast by economists polled by Reuters. Data for February was revised upward to a gain of 33,000 jobs instead of the previously reported 20,000, the smallest gain since September 2017. However, wage increases slowed in March, leaving the data broadly supportive of the Federal Reserve’s decision to suspend its three-year campaign to tighten monetary policy.
Stocks across the world also got a lift from President Donald Trump’s comments on Thursday that Beijing and Washington were close to a trade deal that could be announced within four weeks. Trump later said he would not predict that a deal will be reached. Technology stocks rose 0.4%, rebounding from Thursday’s decline as shares of Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp rose.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.81-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.28-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
Business Business Latest News, Business Business Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »
Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »
Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »