By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks traded mostly higher on
Friday after a government report showed a steady pace of jobs
growth that is likely to keep monetary policy and tapering
unchanged for the foreseeable future.
The economy created slightly fewer jobs in March than forecast,
but more jobs were added in January and February than earlier
estimated.
Modest gains at the open propelled the S&P 500 and the Dow
Jones Industrial Average to intraday highs and all three main
indexes were on track for solid weekly gains. However, indexes
struggled to sustain early optimism.
The S&P 500 (SPX) was 6 points, or 0.3%, higher at 1,894.59.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) added 42 points, or 0.3%, to
16,615.57.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) dipped in and out of negative
territory and was last trading 3 points, or 0.1%, lower at
4,232.72, denting its weekly gain.
"The report was remarkably consistent with what we have been
seeing in the past year or so, in one word good but not great,"
said Anthony Valeri, investment strategist at LPL Financial.
"Looking at the Fed fund futures, this might mean that the Fed
will stay in the game a little longer than anticipated when it
comes to raising rates," he added.
The U.S. created 192,000 jobs in March as hiring rebounded in
the early spring following a winter hiatus. Hiring in January and
February was also somewhat stronger than originally reported. The
unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7% as more people went
searching for jobs. Economist polled by MarketWatch expected a gain
of 200,000 jobs.
"The post-winter rebound we hoped for did not happen, but the
winter hit was smaller than previously believed," wrote Ian
Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Shepherdson thinks the report was nonetheless solid, with food
for thought for both sides of the FOMC: "Hawks will fret over the
sustained payroll strength while doves will point to the (very)
tentative signs of rising participation. The jury is out, but
tapering continues."
GrubHub, Mylan, CarMax
Among individual stocks, GrubHub Inc. (GRUB) shares rose 41% in
their stock market debut.
Mylan Inc (MYL) shares rose 6.9% after reports that Meda AB
rejected its proposal to combine the two businesses. "All continued
discussions between Meda and Mylan have been terminated without
further actions," said Meda in a statement.
CarMax Inc. (KMX) shares fell 1.7% after fourth-quarter results
fell short of Wall Street forecasts.
Shares of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) rose 2.5% adding to a
14.5% gain on Thursday, after the company agreed to a settle all
claims against its subsidiary Kerr-McGee for $5.15 billion. The
case stems from the bankruptcy of Tronox Inc., which was spun off
from Kerr-McGee before it was bought by Anadarko in 2006.
In overseas markets, European stocks rose slightly, leaving them
poised for a ninth-straight gain. Stocks in Asia closed out mostly
higher, though gains were muted ahead of the U.S. data. Gold (GCM4)
moved higher, along with oil (CLK4), while the dollar fell against
the Japanese yen after the jobs report.
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