Trader Richard Newman, left, and specialist Jay Woods work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, Dec. 6, 2013. The stock market is up sharply after the U.S. government reported a big increase in hiring last month. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
December 06, 2013 - 1:10 PM
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Stocks are closing sharply higher after the U.S. government reported a big increase in hiring last month.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 198 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 16,020 Friday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 20 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 1,805. The Nasdaq composite rose 29 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 4,062.
It was the first increase for the market after five days of losses. The S&P 500 still ended the week with a slight loss, the first after eight weeks of gains.
Industrial stocks and others that tend to benefit when the economy is growing posted some of the biggest gains. Intel led the Dow higher.
The government reported that U.S. employers added 203,000 jobs in November, the fourth straight month of solid growth.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013