Investing.com - U.S. stocks rallied on Friday after markets digested a soft January jobs report and decided the numbers were weak but not as bad as initially perceived.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.06%, the S&P 500 index gained 1.33%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 1.69%.
The U.S. Labor Department reported earlier that the economy added 113,000 jobs in January, less than an expected 185,000 increase. December's figure was revised up to a 75,000 rise from a previously estimated 74,000 increase.
The report also showed that 142,000 jobs were added in the U.S. private sector last month, compared to expectations for a 185,000 increase. In December, the number of jobs created in the private sector was revised up to 89,000 from a previously estimated 87,000.
The U.S. unemployment rate ticked down to 6.6% last month, from 6.7% in December. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged in January.
The numbers had a Goldilocks effect on stocks by painting a picture of a not-too-hot-not-too-cold economy, one that will grow fast enough to improve corporate fundamentals, but slow enough to convince the Federal Reserve to taper its USD65 billion monthly bond-buying program gradually and keep interest rates low for the foreseeable future.
Fed asset purchases tend to spur recovery by driving down interest rates, which makes stocks climb with the hope companies will invest and hire
Furthermore, investors applauded data revealing that the size of the labor force increased and construction improved, while sentiments that harsh winter weather may have played a factor and not soft demand boosted spirits as well.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Boeing, up 3.54%, Merck, up 1.83%, and Nike, up 1.62%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Coca-Cola, down 0.25%, Goldman Sachs, which was up 0.06%, and Walt-Disney, up 0.13%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished higher.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.89%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.96%, while Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.49%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished rose 0.20%.