Stocks make modest gains

First Posted:

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Investors added to the week’s strong gains in the stock market after finding some positives in a surprisingly weak jobs report.
Stock indexes posted a modest advance in light trading Friday after the Labor Department said the nation’s unemployment rate topped 10 percent in October for the first time since 1983, but also that the pace of job losses slowed.
The rise in joblessness, while not welcome news for the economy, reassured some investors that the Federal Reserve will have to hold interest rates low for some time. That tends to weaken demand for the dollar, which in turn gives a boost to stocks.
When the dollar is weaker, U.S. goods are cheaper for buyers overseas. Companies that do business overseas also get a profit boost when their earnings are translated back into dollars.
Safe-haven assets like Treasurys were mixed. Oil prices tumbled and gold topped $1,100 an ounce for the first time. Gold benefits when investors are worried about a weak dollar and inflation.
Meanwhile, General Electric Co. rose 6 percent after analysts raised their ratings on the stocks. It was the biggest gainer among the 30 Dow industrials.
For the week, the Dow and the S&P 500 index added 3.2 percent, while the Nasdaq rose 3.3 percent.
Jeffrey Friedman, senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock, a futures brokerage, said the jobs report is worrisome.
“We’re still losing jobs. 10.2 is not a good number. And in reality, it’s probably even higher,” he said.
Some analysts saw reasons for optimism in the report. The number of temporary service jobs rose 34,000. Companies that are reluctant to commit to hiring workers will often first bring in temps to meet demand.