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* Apple rises on report of ramp up in iPhone production
* Nonfarm payrolls increase by 136,000 in Sept
* HP Inc falls on $1 bln restructuring charge
* Indexes end: Dow +1.42%, S&P 500 +1.42%, Nasdaq +1.40%
(Updates to close)
By Noel Randewich
Oct 4 (Reuters) - Wall Street surged on Friday after
moderate jobs growth in September offered relief from a spate of
dismal economic data this week that has rankled markets and
fueled concerns that the world's largest economy may be sliding
into a recession.
A rally in technology stocks led by Apple Inc AAPL.O also
helped lift the benchmark indexes at the end of a rollercoaster
week. After losing about 3% over Tuesday and Wednesday, the S&P
500 .SPX on Friday logged its biggest one-day gain since Aug.
16, thanks in part to a late-session surge.
Still, for a third consecutive week the Dow and S&P 500 lost
ground.
The Labor Department's report showed nonfarm payrolls
increased by 136,000 last month and the unemployment rate
dropped to a 50-year low, but manufacturing payrolls declined
for the first time in six months. "It's sort of a Goldilocks report: it's not strong enough to
move the Federal Reserve away from cutting rates at the end of
October, but it's not weak enough to make you concerned about
the labor market or the consumer," said Shawn Snyder, head of
investment strategy at Citi Personal Wealth Management in New
York.
Bets that the Fed will cut interest rates have surged this
week after a dramatic contraction in U.S. manufacturing, cooling
private sector hiring, and a fall in service sector activity
pointed to widening fallout from the U.S.-China trade war.
Traders see a 77.5% chance that the central bank will lower
borrowing costs at its policy meeting later this month, up from
40% on Monday. The Fed cut rates in September for the second
time this year and said future reductions would be
"data-dependent."
With fears related to the trade war and its effect on the
U.S. economy weighing on sentiment, the S&P 500 is up 2% over
the past 12 months, and about 2% off its record high close in
July.
"Although market participants have been selling stocks and
buying bonds, at the end of the day you say, 'Gee, I still have
to have some return for my investment, and that's going to come
from stocks,'" said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager
at GLOBALT Investments.
Apple Inc AAPL.O shares rose 2.8% after a report that the
company would ramp up production of iPhone 11 models.
The S&P information technology index .SPLRCT climbed 1.7%,
while the Philadelphia chip index .SOX advanced 1.9%.
All 11 major sector indexes rose, led by a 1.9% jump in the
S&P financials .SPSY .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI jumped 1.42% to
close at 26,573.72 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX also surged
1.42%, finishing at 2,952.01.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 1.4% to end at 7,982.47.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was light at 5.9 billion shares,
compared with the 7.3 billion average for the full session over
the last 20 trading days.
For the week, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, the Dow lost 0.9% and
the Nasdaq added 0.5%.
During Friday's session, HP Inc HPQ.N tumbled 9.6% after
the computer maker said it would cut up to 16% of its workforce
as part of a restructuring plan that would result in an overall
charge of $1 billion. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
3.12-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.26-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and 1 new low; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 17 new highs and 70 new lows.