Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Industrials	18146.74		250.86	1.40%
S& P 500	S& P 500 Index	2129.90		32.00	1.53%
NASDAQ	NASDAQ	4956.76		79.95	1.64%

European Indexes

	Index	Country	Change	% Change	Level	Last Update
	FTSE 100	England	+56.85	+0.87%	6,590.64	1:05pm ET
	Euronext 100	Europe	+13.13	+1.59%	838.75	12:05pm ET
	CAC 40	France	+72.83	+1.77%	4,190.68	12:05pm ET
	DAX	Germany	+210.88	+2.24%	9,629.66	4:45pm ET
	Swiss Market Index	Switzerland	+73.71	+0.93%	8,037.94	11:31am ET

Dow closes up triple digits as stocks soar on jobs beat

U.S. stocks closed more than 1 percent higher Friday, more than recovering their post-Brexit losses, after a surprisingly large beat on the June jobs report headline figure.

" What' s got us here right now is the pickup in the employment data is signs of hope we' re in economic recovery," said Lance Roberts, chief investment strategist at Clarity Financial. " The question becomes, is this a one-month anomaly, or is this the start of a bounce in economic recovery? But stocks are responding in this vein. "

Materials closed nearly 2.5 percent higher to lead all 10 S & P sectors higher. Industrials and financials were the second- and third-best performers. Traders also attributed some of Friday' s gains to short covering.

" I think the market' s focused on external events," said Bernie Williams, chief investment officer, USAA Investment Solutions. The " U.S. is still the safe harbor in the world."

" There was a great deal of worry after such weak jobs growth in May and with June' s jobs number much, much stronger than expected that provides relief," said Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones. " At the same time, ... it was not so strong to suggest the Fed has to hike rates. "

The nonfarm payrolls report showed the United States created 287,000 jobs last month, versus 175,000 expected by economists surveyed by Reuters. The unemployment rate edged higher to 4.9 percent, versus the 4.8 percent estimate.
" Certainly the jobs created number was big ... but the rest of the report really was not as good," said Chris Gaffney, president, EverBank World Markets.

" There are so many uncertainties that on the currency side of the ledger we do not see the possibility of an interest rate hike (by the Fed) in 2016," he said, citing concerns around Brexit and the U.S. presidential elections.

U.S. crude oil futures for August delivery settled up 27 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $ 45.41 a barrel. Oil lost 7.3 percent for the week, its worst since February 5.

Gold futures for August delivery settled $ 3.70 lower at $ 1,358.40 an ounce.

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Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Industrials	17895.88		-22.74	-0.13%
S& P 500	S& P 500 Index	2097.90		-1.83	-0.09%
NASDAQ	NASDAQ	4876.81		+17.65	+0.36%

 

Stocks close mixed as oil weighs Street awaits jobs Friday

U.S. stocks closed mixed Thursday as sharp declines in oil prices weighed. Investors are also looking ahead to the highly-anticipated jobs report due Friday morning.

The Dow Jones industrial average gave up opening gains, briefly falling 100 points before closing 22.7 points lower, with Chevron, UnitedHealth, Travelers, and Exxon Mobil having the greatest negative impact. Shares of health insurer Humana and Aetna fell after a report that the US Department of Justice wants to meet regarding plans to merge, raising speculation of antitrust concerns.

US crude oil futures settled down $ 2.29, or 4.83 percent, at $ 45.14 a barrel. Oil erased gains to trade lower after the EIA said weekly crude inventories declined 2.2 million barrels, far less than the 6.7 million barrel drawdown the American Petroleum Institute reported late Wednesday . A reversal in oil prices higher helped stocks close higher on Wednesday.

John Kilduff, founding partner of Again Capital, said the smaller-than-expected drawdown in oil and gasoline inventories sent oil lower, and WTI broke a key support level at $ 46 a barrel. $ 43 is the next level to watch, he said.

On the data front, private sector jobs rose by 172,000 in June, versus consensus expectations of 159,000, according to a report Thursday from ADP and Moody' s. Initial jobless claims came in at 254,000 for the week of July 2.

" That gives people a little more confidence. I do not have to stay in the safe-haven stuff. Maybe that trade will back off a little bit," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth.

European markets bounced back Thursday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 Index more than 1 percent higher, helped by gains in banking stocks.

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