Upbeat Jobs Data Leads To Rally On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - After trending lower over the past few sessions, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Friday. The markets benefited from a largely positive reaction to a better than expected monthly jobs report.

Most of the other major sectors moved to the upside on the day, reflecting the broad based buying interest generated by the upbeat jobs data.

Computer hardware stocks saw considerable strength, resulting in a 1.8 percent advance by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. With the gain, the index reached a new record closing high.

Logitech (LOGI) helped to lead the hardware sector higher, jumping by 5.8 percent, while Seagate Technology (STX) and Western Digital (WDC) also posted strong gains.

Significant strength was also visible among chemical stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Chemicals Index. PPG Industries (PPG) and Air Products (APD) turned in two of the chemical sectors best performances.

Brokerage, defense, housing, and utilities stocks also showed strong moves to the upside over the course of the trading day.

The major averages closed firmly in positive territory, with the Dow and the S&P 500 back above key psychological levels. The Dow surged up 198.69 points or 1.3 percent to 16,020.20, the Nasdaq advanced 29.36 points or 0.7 percent to 4,062.52 and the S&P 500 jumped 20.06 points or 1.1 percent to 1,805.09.

For the week, the Nasdaq inched up by 0.1 percent, while the Dow fell by 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 was nearly flat.