Responding to positive job news released today, Wall Street saw major stock indexes surge upward before closing for the week.
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The Dow Jones Industrials climbed 85 points to close at 9,572, while the tech-related Nasdaq shot up 44 points, or 2.4 percent, ending at 1,881.
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A federal government report earlier today indicated U.S. companies began hiring again in September after seven straight months of cutting their payrolls. The report, which was better than expected, said 57,000 jobs were added last month. The unemployment rate for the month stayed steady at 6.1 percent
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"Today's numbers are going to tilt a few more people into the bullish camp and pull more money into the market,'' David Briggs, head of trading at Federated Investors Inc., told Bloomberg News. "Everybody said employment was a lagging indicator and we finally have some proof that things are picking up.''
Retailers, including Wal-Mart, advanced in anticipation of higher consumer spending, Bloomberg reported. Monster Worldwide Inc., the largest online job site, also climbed, suggesting investors expect a higher demand for workers based on the recent numbers.
The Dow Jones index shot up as high as 156 points after the job announcement was first made.
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"After seven months of minus signs, we've become desensitized, so this was a positive psychological shock, to see a plus sign in front of an employment number," said David Rosenberg, chief North American economist for Merrill Lynch, NBC News reported. "Is it an inflection point? It remains to be seen. There are still plenty of signs of softness in the labor market."