Stocks surge higher on Wall Street

Stocks surged higher on Wall Street today as investors overcame their initial disappointment with the January employment report, believing the moderate job growth would help keep interest rates stable in the near future.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged 97.48, or 0.9%, to finish at 10,593.03, ending the week up 104.96, or 1%, after two weeks of selling.

Broader stock indicators also finished higher. The Nasdaq composite index jumped 44.45, or 2.2%, to 2,064.01, although it fell 0.1% for the week due to a 52-point loss Wednesday, giving the tech-dominated index its third straight losing week.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 14.17, or 1.3%, at 1,142.76, and finished the week 1% higher after being down the previous week.

The Labour Department reported the unemployment rate fell 0.1% to 5.6% last month to its lowest level since October 2001.

The economy created 112,000 new jobs in January, and while analysts and economists had been expecting a higher number, the report was enough to motivate buyers who had been dormant for more than two weeks.

“It’s a Goldilocks report – not too hot and not too cold,” said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at First Albany Corp.

“When you have interest rates declining and stock prices rising, like we do today, you get a great return on a balanced portfolio.”

Although the new job figure was not as high as the 150,000 to 175,000 pundits had hoped for, the economy had not created as many jobs in a single month since December 2000, near the peak of the last bull market.

“There were some solid gains in the report,” Johnson said. “You can no longer characterise the current recovery as a jobless recovery. It’s a job-creating recovery.”

Furthermore, the lower-than-expected job creation could be a boon to investors fearing an interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve, as well as those who have part of their portfolio in bonds.

However, investors should think about a move to large-cap stocks, since small- to mid-caps could suffer if the dollar continues to weaken, according to Kevin Caron, market strategist at Ryan, Beck & Co.

“With the global economy accelerating in 2004, the large-caps will be able to take full advantage of that, whereas the smaller companies don’t have the resources, especially with the weak dollar,”

Caron said. “There’s still some room for positive surprises in earnings in the first and second quarters, however.”

In the meantime, strong first-quarter earnings reports added fuel to the session’s buying.