Stocks Turn In Strong Performance -- US Commentary

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks were slightly positive Friday morning as traders assessed a relatively upbeat jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 99 points, or 0.4%, to 24,456 for a weekly advance of 0.8%. The S&P 500 rose 23 points, or 0.8%, to 2,759 to close up 1.5% higher on the week while the Nasdaq Composite Index added 101 points, or 1.3%, to 7,688 for weekly gain of 2.4%.

Biogen's stock skyorocked after positive results from a study of its Alzheimer's treatment.

Germany's Constitutional Court rejected complaints that raiding the offices of Volkswagen AG's lawyer Jones Day as part of an investigation into the diesel-emissions scandal violated constitutional law.

Employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of June, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday.

The report said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 213,000 jobs in June after surging up by an upwardly revised 244,000 jobs in May. However, the unemployment rate rose to 4.0 percent in June from 3.8 percent in May, as temporary school jobs ended for the summer.

Traders also weighed yesterday afternoon's Federal Reserve minutes.

"Negative risks to economy from U.S. trade policy have intensified," the minutes showed.