Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
NEW YORK -- Wall Street went on a buying spree today, encouraged by a government employment report that could bolster the case for an interest rate cut early next year. Investors were so optimistic they shrugged off an earnings warning from Intel. The Dow Jones industrials and Nasdaq composite each had triple-digit gains until the afternoon but gave up some ground before the close, partly because of the continuing uncertainty from the presidential election. Dow gains 95.55
Associated Press
The Dow closed up 95.55 at 10,712.91, a 0.9 percent gain, after spiking more than 185 points. Broader measures also advanced, particularly the Nasdaq, up 6 percent, rising 164.79 to 2,917.45. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 26.34, or 2 percent, to 1,369.89. Advancers beat decliners by a 2-to-1 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,076 up, 816 down and 435 unchanged. NYSE volume came to 1.34 billion shares vs. 1.11 billion shares yesterday. The Russell 2000 index rose 17.97 to 479.07; the NYSE composite index climbed 10.59 to 655.37; and the American Stock Exchange composite index advanced 22.02 to 873.49.
Stocks got a lift from the Labor Department's report that job growth remained weak in November for the second straight month, helping the jobless rate edge up to 4.0 percent. The growth is viewed as a sign the economy is moderating, and a possible reason for the Fed to reduce interest rates. "It's not a bad-looking market," said Larry Rice, chief investment officer at Josephthal & Co. "Usually you have a rally and it's a bunch of blue chips or big Nasdaq stocks and today and yesterday the breadth was actually broad and pretty decent."