Press Association

Fall in jobless numbers boosts Dow

A drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest in three years has propelled the Dow Jones industrial average to its highest close since before the 2008 financial crisis.

The Nasdaq composite index hit an 11-year high and the Dow jumped 156.82 points to 12,862.23, its highest mark since May 19 2008, about four months before Lehman Brothers investment bank collapsed.

Before the market opened, the Labour Department said the economy added 243,000 jobs in January. It was the strongest job growth in nine months. The increase in hiring pushed the unemployment rate down to 8.3%, the lowest since February 2009.

The surprising data gave financial markets a morning jolt that lasted throughout the trading day. The Nasdaq index closed 45.98 points higher at 2,905.66, its highest since December 2000, during the steep decline that followed the dot-com stock bubble.

The price of ultra-safe Treasury notes dropped, sending yields higher, and the price of oil rose for the first time in a week.

"In this economy, only one variable matters right now, and that variable is employment," said Lawrence Creatura, an equity portfolio manager at Federated Investors. "This report was great news. It was beyond all expectations, literally. The number was higher than even the highest forecast."

The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 19.36 points, or 1.3%, to 1,344.90, its highest close since last July. The S&P 500 surged 2.2% for the week, its fifth straight week of gains. That is the longest weekly winning stretch since January of 2011.

More evidence that the economy is gaining strength followed the jobs report. A trade group said the service industry expanded at the fastest pace since last February. The government also said factory orders rose 1.1% in December, supported by a rebound in orders for heavy machinery.

Bank of America led the 30 stocks in the Dow, rising 5.2%. Only two stocks were lower - Merck and Procter & Gamble. Treasury prices fell, lifting the yield on the 10-year note Treasury to 1.93%. When bond prices fall, yields rise. The benchmark 10-year rate had traded below 1.79% earlier this week as traders bought US Treasuries on renewed concern over Europe's ongoing debt crisis.

The US jobs figures helped markets in Europe rally on Friday despite further evidence that the 17-country eurozone is heading for recession. Germany's DAX closed 1.7% higher, and France's CAC-40 gained 1.5%.