U.S. stocks closed modestly higher after the government reported a surge in hiring last month. Employers added 321,000 jobs in November, the biggest burst of job creation in almost three years and far more than economists were expecting.
On Friday:
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 58.69 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 17,958.79.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 3.45 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,075.37.
The Nasdaq composite rose 11.32 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 4,780.76.
For the week:
The Dow is up 130.55 points, or 0.7 per cent.
The S&P 500 is up 7.81 points, or 0.4 per cent.
The Nasdaq is down 10.87 points, or 0.2 per cent.
For the year:
The Dow is up 1,382.13 points, or 8.3 per cent.
The S&P 500 index is up 227.01 points, or 12.3 per cent.
The Nasdaq is up 604.17 points, or 14.5 per cent.
