U.S. stocks rose as Wall Street made its final moves ahead of a highly anticipated report on the job market.
The S&P climbed 0.8% Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1%.
Treasury yields fell following data that showed weaker hiring among private employers and a potential increase in layoffs. Neither is flashing a recession, but a slowdown in the job market could push the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate in a couple weeks. A more comprehensive jobs report is due Friday, which will likely carry more weight with the Fed.
On Thursday:
The S&P 500 rose 53.82 points, or 0.8%, to 6,502.08.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 350.06 points, or 0.8%, to 45,621.29.
The Nasdaq composite rose 209.97 points, or 1%, to 21,707.69.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 29.64 points, or 1.3%, to 2,379.61.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is up 41.82 points, or 0.6%
The Dow is up 76.41 points, or 0.2%.
The Nasdaq is up 252.14 points, or 1.2%.
The Russell 2000 is up 13.19 points, or 0.6%.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is up 620.45 points, or 10.5%.
The Dow is up 3,077.07 points, or 7.2%.
The Nasdaq is up 2,396.90 points, or 12.4%.
The Russell 2000 is up 149.45 points, or 6.7%.
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