Stocks Ended Sharply Higher after Strong Jobs Report

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday after the Labor Department’s February jobs report handily exceeded expectations, reaffirming the building momentum in the economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 572.16 points, or 1.85%, to 31496.30 and gained 1.82% this week. The S&P 500 added 73.47 points, or 1.95%, to 3,841.94 and a 0.81% gain for this week. The Nasdaq Composite gained 196.68 points, or 1.55%, to 12,920.15, but still ended down 2.06% this week.

U.S. and global benchmark crude-oil prices log their highest settlements since 2019 on Friday, up more than 7% for the week, a day after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, in a surprise move, said they would rollover current production cuts to the end of April. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery rose $2.26, or 3.5%, to settle at $66.09 a barrel. May Brent crude gained $2.62, or 3.9%, to settle at $69.36 a barrel. For the week, WTI crude ended 7.5% higher, while Brent crude logged a weekly climb of 7.7%.

The U.S. economy added back the most jobs in four months in February, as easing COVID-19 case counts and a ramping vaccine rollout allowed distancing restrictions to begin to moderate. Non-farm payrolls rose by 379,000 in February, or well above the 200,000 expected. The unemployment rate dipped to 6.2%, unexpectedly improving compared to January’s 6.3%.