U. S. stocks rose broadly in afternoon trading Friday, erasing the market’s losses from a day earlier and placing the Standard & Poor’s 500 on…
U. S. stocks rose broadly in afternoon trading Friday, erasing the market’s losses from a day earlier and placing the Standard & Poor’s 500 on track for its second straight weekly gain.
Investors welcomed the government’s latest snapshot of U. S. employment, which showed that job growth surged in April past economists’ forecasts and unemployment fell to a five-decade low.
Technology companies, banks, communications and consumer-focused stocks helped drive much of the rally. Energy sector companies notched the biggest gain as crude oil prices rebounded. Smaller company stocks were up more than the rest of the market.
Traders continued to weigh through corporate earnings reports for the first quarter. Results have come in mixed so far, but they have been good enough to ease worries that company profits would slump overall.
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United States Steel, Weight Watchers and Monster Beverage were among the latest companies to give investors surprisingly good results.
