Business growth propels markets

NEW YORK – U.S. stocks jumped Friday, with the benchmark indexes posting their first weekly gain in three, as May payrolls rose more than forecast, but not so much as to cause worry about the Federal Reserve quickening any plans for monetary tightening.

“All that seems to matter is we nominally met our expectations on employment,” said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank.

“Maybe the correction is over, and the wicked witch is dead. But my suspicion is we need to do a little more work at least in consolidating sideways,” he added.

Investors are tracking economic data with more than the economy in mind, as the Federal Reserve is expected to begin cutting its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases once the central bank deems the recovery on sound enough footing to withstand the reduced stimulus.

“I don’t think this (the nonfarm-payrolls report) is going to push them too far one way or the other. The unemployment rate is still above their target, and other than gasoline prices, we’re not seeing much in the way of inflationary forces that would scare them,” McCain said.

Posting a weekly gain of 0.9 percent, the Dow Jones industrial average advanced 207.50 points, or 1.4 percent, on Friday to 15,248.12, with Boeing Co. leading the pack, up 2.7 percent. Friday’s session is the best performance for the blue-chip index since Jan. 2.

Rising 0.8 percent from the prior Friday’s finish, the S&P 500 index added 20.82 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,643.38.

The Nasdaq composite climbed 45.16 points, or 1.3 percent, to 3,469.22, leaving it up 0.4 percent for the week.

U.S. stock futures reverted from little changed to solid gains after the Labor Department report, which had payrolls climbing 175,000 last month after a revised 149,000 rise in April. The unemployment rate climbed to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent as more Americans stepped into the labor pool.