Dow surges more than 700 points after Powell comments, blowout jobs reportCNBC, Jan 4, 2019
Stocks rallied on Friday after two positive pieces of news for the market.
At 8:30 a.m., the Labor Department said the U.S. economy added 312,000 jobs in December. That blew past an expectation of 176,000 jobs. Later on Friday morning, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will be patient in raising rates, quelling fears of tighter monetary policy in the near future.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 726 points higher, or 3.2 percent, and briefly rose more than 800 points. The S&P 500 rallied 3.28 percent, with the tech sector gaining more than 4 percent. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 4.3 percent. This was a rebound from Thursday's plunge, which was triggered by a massive drop in Apple's stock.
Stocks took off after Powell hinted the central bank could pause its rate hikes, something this beaten-down market was waiting for. "As always, there is no preset path for policy," Powell said. "And particularly with muted inflation readings that we've seen coming in, we will be patient as we watch to see how the economy evolves."
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