U.S. stocks jump after solid March jobs report

NEW YORK – U.S. stocks climbed Friday after the government said job growth continued at a strong clip in March. Makers of consumer goods and household products rose, and health care companies rebounded. The solid employment report helped U.S. stocks stay out of a steep global decline.

Early in the day, stocks tumbled along with the prices of oil and precious metals, but they recovered in the afternoon and finished at their highest levels of the day. The Labor Department’s monthly jobs report showed that employers added 215,000 jobs last month, a sign the economy isn’t slowing down. Energy companies took big losses. Hotel companies and airlines both tumbled.

The jobs report was a bit stronger than investors expected but was consistent with hiring over the past few years. That shows employers are confident enough to add staff even though overall economic growth has slowed down. More people also looked for work and wages edged higher.

Kate Warne, investment strategist for Edward Jones, said the report shows the U.S. economy is staying on track and growth remains steady in spite of all the stock market turmoil this year.

“That means more spending on everything from housing to McDonald’s,” she said. “It’s one more confirmation that the worries from earlier in the year really weren’t warranted.”

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 107.66 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,792.75. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 13.04 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,072.78. The Nasdaq composite index gained 44.69 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,914.54. Stocks haven’t made many sharp moves in recent weeks but have drifted gradually higher.

Energy prices dropped as investors became more pessimistic about the fate of a proposed deal for major oil-producing nations to reduce production. That would help address a gigantic glut in global supplies, which has hurt prices. U.S. crude fell $1.55, or 4 percent, to $36.79 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the benchmark for pricing international oils, gave up $1.66, or 4.1 percent, to $38.67 a barrel in London.

Gold fell $12.10, or 1 percent, to $1,223.50 an ounce. Silver dropped 42 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $15.05 an ounce. Copper lost two cents to $2.16 a pound.