Good news is good news! Stocks rose slightly early Friday, following a better-than-expected jobs report.
The Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were all modestly higher in early trading. This comes one day stocks tumbled following a surprise interest rate cut by the European Central Bank and stronger than expected U.S. economic reports.
The U.S. economy added 204,000 jobs in October, according to the Labor Department. That is higher than the 120,000 estimate of economists surveyed by CNNMoney. Revisions showed an extra 60,000 jobs were created in August and September. The gains came despite a partial government shutdown in October, which many economists had feared would hurt the economy.
Separately, the Commerce Department said personal income rose 0.5% in September, while spending edged up 0.2%.
The jobs report and other good economic news has revived speculation on when the Federal Reserve will begin scaling back, or tapering, its $85 billion per month bond buying program. Many market experts believe the Fed’s stimulus is a key reason why stocks have surged this year.
But bond prices fell, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 2.71%, from 2.61%. Bond prices and rates move in opposite directions. The spike in yields Friday could be another sign that the market believes the Fed will taper sooner rather than later. Yields surged earlier this summer on expectations the Fed would cut back its bond buying sometime this year.
Stocks on the move: Twitter shares fell nearly 3% on Friday morning, their second day of trading. Twitter shares closed at $44.90 on Thursday, a whopping 73% gain from its initial public offering price of $26.
Groupon shares rose despite disappointing earnings and a weak outlook.
Walt Disney reported slightly better-than-expected earnings and sales.
European markets fell in afternoon trading. The Paris stock market tumbled after Standard & Poor’s downgraded France’s credit rating. Asian markets chalked up big losses despite strong China trade data.
