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US STOCKS-Wall Street at record high as dismal jobs data spurs stimulus bets

Published 04/12/2020, 17:43
Updated 04/12/2020, 17:48
© Reuters.
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* Oil companies boosted by jump in crude prices
* U.S. economy logs fifth straight monthly slowdown in job
gains
* S&P 500, Dow on track to log gains for four weeks out of
five
* Indexes up: Dow 0.5%, S&P 0.6%, Nasdaq 0.4%

(Updates prices)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan and Medha Singh
Dec 4 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes jumped to
all-time highs on Friday as data showing the slowest jobs growth
in six months reinforced investors expectations for a new fiscal
stimulus bill to help revive the economy from its worst downturn
in decades.
All the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, with value stocks
such as energy .SPNY and financials .SPSY , which have lagged
the broader market this year, leading the gains.
Occidental Petroleum Corp OXY.N and Chevron Corp CVX.N
climbed about 3% each, lifted by a rise in crude prices, as
major oil producers agreed on a compromise to extend the bulk of
existing supply curbs. O/R
The Labor Department's closely watched report showed nonfarm
payrolls increased by 245,000 jobs in November, the smallest
gain since the jobs recovery started in May. Nonfarm payrolls
rose by 610,000 in October. Analysts said the dismal report could spur policymakers to
push harder for a stimulus bill as more than 13 million people
were due to lose their government-funded unemployment benefits
on Dec. 26 without quick action by Congress.
"The bad news of the weakening jobs picture is potentially
good news for investors because it means that the stimulus bill
is much more likely to take place in a fairly short time frame,"
said Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist at LPL Financial in
North Carolina.
At 11:21 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 158.14 points or 0.53% to 30,127.66, the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 22.68 points or 0.62% to 3,689.40 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC gained 51.20 points, or 0.41% to 12,428.14.
A $908 billion coronavirus aid plan gained momentum in the
Congress on Thursday after a months-long standoff between
Republicans and Democrats over the size of the potential
package. The two parties also face a Dec. 11 deadline to pass a $1.4
trillion budget or risk a shutdown of the
government. Positive vaccine updates from major drugmakers have eased
worries around grim economic data and a surge in infections,
setting Wall Street's main indexes for another week of gains
after the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX clocked its best November.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's chief said on Friday
he had a "robust discussion" with the White House this week
about the timeline for COVID-19 vaccine approvals and believes
vaccinating 20 million Americans this year is realistic.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by 3.3-to-1 on the
NYSE and by 2.5-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 39 new 52-week highs and no new lows
while the Nasdaq recorded 279 new highs and 13 new lows.

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