por admin » Mié Abr 05, 2017 12:32 pm
Stocks Surge on Strong Jobs Numbers
Minutes from the Fed’s recent meeting are due later Wednesday
By Riva Gold and Aaron Kuriloff Updated April 5, 2017 12:20 p.m. ET
U.S. stocks rose, supported by an upbeat reading on the job market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 141 points, or 0.7%, to 20831. The S&P 500 added 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Co mposite gained 0.5%.
Gains were broad, with all 11 S&P 500 sectors moving higher after data signaled strength in the labor force, reinforcing postelection bets on an expanding U.S. economy.
Those wagers that have supported major indexes even as concerns mount that the Trump administration may struggle to deliver on hoped-for policies such as tax cuts that could boost corporate profits.
The Dow industrials pared early gains, after surging almost 200 points early in the session on gains in oil prices and following data that showed the U.S. private sector added a better-than-expected 263,000 jobs in March, according to payroll firm Automatic Data Processing Inc. and Moody’s Analytics. The Labor Department’s job report for March is expected Friday.
Consumer discretionary shares were among the biggest gainers in the S&P 500, rising 0.8% after the Institute for Supply Management said nonmanufacturing activity fell more than economists expected in March, while still showing expansion in industries such as health-care and finance. The ISM earlier this week said manufacturing slipped in March, while still expanding for a seventh consecutive month.
Caterpillar rose 1.6% to lead the Dow industrials. Cisco Systems was the only decliner in the blue-chip index, slipping 0.2%.
“There’s a Goldilocks scenario in the U.S. economy,” said Garth Nisbet, portfolio manager at Wells Fargo Asset Management , noting oil-driven deflationary fears are receding. “If we saw commodity prices start to falter we’d be worried,” he said.
The gains came with many investors looking ahead to minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March 14-15 meeting, which are due later in the day. Investors will eye them carefully for hints as to the likely pace of rate rises as well as the Fed’s plans to shrink its balance sheet.
U.S. government bond prices fell, as the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 2.369% after the payrolls data from 2.350% Tuesday.
The Southern Copper smelter facility in Ilo, Peru.
The Southern Copper smelter facility in Ilo, Peru. Photo: Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg News
Given the current level of Treasury yields and the fact that U.S. stocks are near all-time highs, “it doesn’t feel the market is priced for the Fed unwinding its balance sheet,” said James Athey, investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management .
“Anything we can glean from the minutes about how that conversation is going and how many people are in each camp will be interesting,” he said.
The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of 16 others, was up 0.1%, with the dollar up 0.4% against the yen.
The dollar had fallen sharply after the Fed’s March meeting as some investors were disappointed the central bank didn’t increase its projections for rates or economic growth.
The Stoxx Europe 600 inched up less than 0.1%, with gains in the energy and basic resources sectors. U.S. oil prices rose 0.6% to $55.31 a barrel.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.5%, notching its best day since August. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.3%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3% as higher base-metal prices supported local miners. Metals priced got a lift from signs of fresh supply disruptions and expectations of rising demand from China and the U.S.