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* U.S. payrolls unexpectedly jump by 2.5 mln in May
* Boeing jumps on hopes of a pickup in air travel
* Cyclicals, small caps and transports outperform
* Indexes up: Dow 3.39%, S&P 500 2.81%, Nasdaq 2.16%
(Updates to late afternoon, changes dateline, byline)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - Wall Street surged on Friday,
and the Nasdaq was on course to set a new record closing high
after the May jobs provided an astounding upside surprise and
the clearest evidence yet that the U.S. economy is bouncing back
sooner than expected from pandemic-related lockdowns.
The Nasdaq is set to be the first among the three major U.S.
stock indexes to reclaim all-time highs reached in February.
The S&P 500 and the Dow are now within 6% and 8% of overtaking
their record closing levels.
The benchmark S&P 500 is now within one percent of showing a
year-to-date gain.
The U.S. economy added a remarkable 2.5 million jobs last
month, rebounding from April's record 20.7 million payrolls drop
and pushing the unemployment rate down to 13.3%. Analysts saw
unemployment soaring to a historic 19.8%. "I don't think anybody anticipated this," said Michael
Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global
Advisors in Boston.
"It has confirmed what many folks were suggesting - that the
effects on the labor market from the pandemic were temporary and
that when the economy reopened and the infection rates started
to diminish, that these jobs would come back."
"This report confirms that."
U.S. Treasury yields rose on the jobs data, giving a boost
to interest rate-sensitive banks and sending the S&P 500 Banks
index .SPXBK up 5.5%. Airlines, among the hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis,
soared, with the ARCA Airlines index jumping 8.5%.
But the World Health Organization warned that the COVID-19
pandemic, which brought the global economy to its knees in the
wake of mandated shutdowns, is far from over and new cases are
on the rise. Market participants now turn their focus to the U.S. Federal
Reserve, at whose monetary policy meeting next week the latest
jobs data will almost certainly be discussed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 891.6 points,
or 3.39%, to 27,173.42, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 87.41 points,
or 2.81%, to 3,199.76 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
207.37 points, or 2.16%, to 9,823.18.
All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 were in the black, with
energy .SPNY , financials .SPSY and industrials .SPLRCI
leading the gainers in a continuation of a rotation into
cyclicals, which were beaten up amid economic lockdowns.
Small caps and transportation stocks also outperformed, with
the Russell 2000 .RUT and Dow Transportation .DJT up 4.7%
and 3.9%, respectively.
Boeing Co BA.N surged 12.2%, giving biggest the blue-chip
Dow its biggest boost, on hopes of a pickup in air travel a day
after American Airlines Group Inc AAL.O and United Airlines
UAL.O said they would boost their U.S. flight schedule next
month. Shares of luxury retailer Tiffany & Co TIF.N jumped 5.5%
after Reuters reported LVMH (PA:LVMH)'s $16.2-billion takeover deal was
back on track. Drugmaker Novavax Inc NVAX.O advanced 2.8% after
announcing it would receive up to $60 million from the U.S.
Department of Defense to manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine
candidate. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
6.08-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.70-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 82 new highs and 2 new lows.