Jobless report boosts US stocks

New York - US stocks rose after the government reported Friday that job losses in July were not as severe as expected, reinforcing hope that the economy has begun to recover from the worst recession in decades.

The Department of Labour said employers cut 247,000 jobs in July, a sharp decline from the more than 400,000 lost in August and the 700,000 monthly rate dating back to the beginning of the year. The unemployment trate dipped from 9.5 per cent to 9.4 per cent.

The news played out well on Wall Street, where all three major indices enjoyed modest gains.

"The market has a laser focus on the economy and on jobs, so any improvement in that leads to an improvement in the stock market," David Katz of Matrix Asset Advisors in New York told Bloomberg news. "The worst is behind for the economy, and we're on the mend."

Leading the way was the Nasdaq Composite Index, which climbed by 1.37 per cent, or 27.09 points, to 2,000.25 compared to 1,973.16 a day earlier. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index picked up 13.40 points to end trading at 1,010.48 - a 1.34 per cent rise from Thursday's finish at 997.08.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average got a 1.23 per-cent bump, gaining 113.81 points to close at 9,370.07 points. The Dow Jones was at 9,256.26 when the closing bell rang on Thursday.

President Barack Obama had earlier declared the slowing pace of job loss a sign his economic stimulus plan is working and that "the worst may be behind us."

"We are pointed in the right direction," he said.

On currency markets, the US dollar posted a gain on the euro, finishing at 70.50 euro cents from 69.64 euro cents on Thursday. The dollar was also up on the yen to 97.57 from 95.43 yen the previous day.//DPA