(As of 7:05 am PST)
US stocks opened higher Friday
as investors welcomed a surprisingly strong jobs report lifting confidence in
the strength of the underlying domestic economy. The Labor Department’s
non-farm payrolls report, released pre-market Friday, showed the US created
292,000 private sector jobs in December – well above the 215,000 forecasted by economists.
The unemployment rate remained at 5% while employment gains for November and
October were also revised upward. The jobs report was a welcome distraction
from the past week’s headlines. Plummeting oil prices, a sell-off in China, and
a hydrogen bomb test in North Korea topped the list. It was an historic week
from a market perspective. The first four trading days of 2016 marked the worst
start to a new year for the S&P500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average in
history. A recovery in China Friday helped lift the mood around the globe, but
was not enough to erase the 10% losses incurred on the Shanghai index this week
alone. Oil is finding some stability today after falling nearly 10% over the
past week as well. It’s a week many investors would soon wish to forget. Perhaps
today’s market gains and the reminder of the underlying strength of the US
economy will usher in a relief rally next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment