US Stocks Rise After Jobs Report

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks are rising Friday after the U.S. government said employers added more jobs than expected in February, the latest sign of strength for the economy. Energy companies are rising as the price of oil jumps 4 percent and mining companies are rising along with metals prices.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 80 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,023 as of 12:08 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 10 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,003. The Nasdaq composite rose 23 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,730. Stocks are on track to rise for the fourth day in a row.

The S&P 500 last traded over 2,000 on Jan. 6, the third trading day of the year.

JOBS REPORT: The Labor Department said employers added 242,000 jobs in February as construction, retail and health care companies kept hiring more workers. Consumer demand was solid, and the government also said employers hired more people in December and January than it had previously estimated. More people also looked for work.

THE BIG PICTURE: This week stocks have risen following reports that show the U.S. economy is doing fairly well, including data on construction spending and manufacturing.

Kate Warne, investment strategist for Edward Jones, said she expects continued job and economic growth for the U.S.

"The worries that we've been hearing recently about the economy sliding into recession aren't warranted," she said. Combined with low inflation rates, she said that's good news for investors.

BIG SCREEN GETS BIGGER: AMC Theaters, owned by Wanda Group of China, is buying Carmike Cinemas for $1.1 billion. The deal will create the biggest movie theater chain in the world. Earlier this year, Wanda said it would buy Legendary Entertainment, a studio that co-financed movies including "Jurassic World" and "The Dark Knight." Carmike climbed $4.16, or 16.6 percent, to $29.27.

BONDS: Bond prices tumbled and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.90 percent from 1.84 percent late Thursday.

METALS: Metals prices kept climbing. Gold rose 1 percent to $1,270 an ounce and silver jumped 4 percent to $15.73 an ounce. Copper rose almost 4 percent to $2.29 a pound.

Copper mining company Freeport-McMoRan gained $1.31, or 14.4 percent, to $10.42 and aluminum producer Alcoa rose 47 cents, or 5 percent, to $9.95. Gold miner Newmont Mining picked up 42 cents to $27.24.

OIL: The price of U.S. crude oil rose $1.34, or 3.9 percent, to $35.91 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oils, rose $1.61, or 4.3 percent, to $38.68 a barrel in London. While U.S. oil is still down significantly this year, Brent, the international standard, is now higher than it was at the beginning of the year.

U.S. oil prices are also on track to rise for the third week in a row, which hasn't happened since May.

Energy stocks climbed for the fourth day in a row. Southwestern Energy rose $1.42, or 19.3 percent, to $8.76 and drilling rig operator Transocean gained $1.81, or 16.7 percent, to $12.64.

HP HIGH POINT: Hewlett Packard Enterprise, an information technology products and service company, reported a stronger profit and greater sales than analysts had expected. Its stock surged $1.83, or 13.4 percent, to $15.43.

TAXED: H&R Block tumbled after its quarterly profit and revenue disappointed investors. The company said people are filing their taxes later and refunds are taking longer to process as efforts to fight tax fraud increase. The stock dropped $5.79, or 17.6 percent, to $27.11.

OVERSEAS: Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.1 percent and France's CAC 40 rose 0.9 percent. Germany's DAX was up 0.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed 0.3 percent higher and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.2 percent. South Korea's Kospi edged 0.1 percent lower.

CURRENCIES: The euro rose to $1.1012 from $1.0959 the day before while the dollar edged up to 113.91 yen from 113.57 yen.

(KA)