WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving higher early in the session, stocks have seen some further upside over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages have climbed firmly into positive territory, further offsetting the steep losses posted on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Currently, the major averages are just off their lows of the session. The Dow is up 233.88 points or 0.9 percent at 26,434.92, the Nasdaq is up 75.15 points or 1 percent at 7,947.42 and the S&P 500 is up 26.56 points or 0.9 percent at 2,937.19.
The rally on Wall Street reflects a positive reaction to the Labor Department's mixed jobs data, which has reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates while at the same offsetting concerns about a potential recession.
While the report showed weaker than expected job growth in September, the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to a nearly 50-year low.
The report said non-farm payroll employment rose by 136,000 jobs in September compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 145,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, the increases in employment in July and August were upwardly revised to 166,000 jobs and 168,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting the addition of 45,000 more jobs than previously reported.
The average monthly job growth has still slowed from 223,000 jobs per month in 2018 to 161,000 jobs per month so far in 2019.
The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent in September from 3.7 percent in August. Economists had expected to unemployment rate to remain unchanged.
With the unexpected decrease, the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level since hitting a matching rate in December of 1969.
The unexpected drop in the unemployment rate came as a 391,000-person jump in the household survey measure of employment more than offset an 117,000-person increase in the size of the labor force.
Even with the unemployment rate hitting a nearly 50-year low, the report said average hourly employee earnings edged down by a penny to $28.09 in September after rising by 11 cents in August.
Compared to the same month a year ago, average hourly earnings were up by 2.9 percent in September, reflecting a notable slowdown from the 3.2 percent increase in August.
Citing headwinds from weaker global growth, trade uncertainty and the strong U.S. dollar, ING Chief International Economist James Knightley expects job growth to average closer to 120,000 for the rest of the year.
'This suggests pay growth is unlikely to accelerate markedly from here and with inflation picking up, the real wage growth story may not be as positive for spending power,' Knightley said. 'All in all, it looks as though the Fed will need to step in with more policy easing to support the economy.'
Sector News
Housing stocks have shown a strong move to the upside over the course of the session, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 1.3 percent.
Considerable strength has also emerged among semiconductor and software stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index climbing by 1.3 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.
Healthcare, pharmaceutical and telecom stocks are also seeing notable strength on the day, while natural gas and oil service stocks have shown significant moves to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index surged up by 1.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.9 percent and the German DAX Index climbed by 0.7 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest strength, extending a recent upward trend. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.6 basis points at 1.520 percent.
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