U.S.stocks markets rose Friday even after the monthly jobs report showed the economy lost 533,000 jobs in November, the largest single-month drop since December 1974 when employment plummeted by 602,000. The September-though-November period saw an average 419,000 monthly job losses and the unemployment rate rose to 6.7%
As bad as the employment report was it didn't stop the S&P 500 from making a 6.95% rise off the daily low made just after markets opened, even though the report implied the economy could contract by 5% (annualized) in the fourth quarter.
"There's no question the economy is slowing rapidly," said Matthew Carniol, chief currency strategist at TheLFB-forex.com. "The circumstances however are very different this time given the actions taken by the Federal Reserve and the government. Aside from that, traders might be looking ahead to the economic stimulus package which is sure to come from the new Obama administration."
At the close of floor trading on the NYSE, the DOW was on 8635.42 after gaining 259.18 points (3.09%). The S&P closed on 876.07, up 30.85 points (3.65%) while the NASDAQ finished the day's trading on 1509.31 with a gain of 63.75 points (4.41%). Bonds were sold for the first time this week as stocks rallied. The yield on the 2-year note rose 11.7 basis points to 0.929% while yield on the 10-year note gained 15.5 basis points to 2.707%. The dollar traded mixed on the day but was in risk-acceptance mode in the afternoon as stocks advanced. The greenback was higher by 0.31% against the euro, but lost 0.57% against the pound and 0.47% against Australia's dollar. It rose 0.73% against the yen.
NYMEX crude for January delivery lost $1.99 (-4.56%) to $41.68 per barrel.
COMEX gold for February delivery fell $6.60 (-0.86%) to $758.90 per ounce.
COMEX gold for February delivery fell $6.60 (-0.86%) to $758.90 per ounce.