Stocks Ended Solidly Higher after Strong Jobs Report

U.S. stocks ended solidly higher on Friday, after a stronger-than-expected jobs report underscored the U.S. economy’s health. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 197.16 points, or 0.75%, to 26,504.95. The S&P 500 climbed 28.12 points, or 0.96%, to 2,945.64. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 127.22 points, or 1.58%, to 8,164.00. For the week, the S&P 500 booked a 0.2% gain, the Nasdaq climbed 0.2%. The Dow, however, registered a 0.1% decline.

Oil futures edged higher on Friday. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery added 13 cents, 0.2%, to settle at $61.94 a barrel. The front-month contract saw a weekly loss of about 2.2%. July Brent crude rose by a dime, 0.1%, to $70.85 a barrel. Front-month contract prices lost roughly 1.1% for the week.

The economy added 263,000 non-farm payrolls for the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. This topped expectations for 190,000 new positions, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6% for the month, the lowest level since December 1969.

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