Stocks open higher after unemployment rate drops
Stocks rose on Friday after a government report showed that more Americans are going back to work.
The unemployment rate declined to 7.8 percent, the first time it has gone below 8 percent in nearly four years, and better than economists had expected. The 114,000 jobs created in September was in line with what economists had expected.
A few minutes after the opening bell, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 50 points at 13,626. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose six points to 1,468. The Nasdaq composite was up almost 12 points to 3,161.
U.S. stocks making noteworthy moves included:
— Wet Seal rose 5 cents to $3.19 after the troubled retailer's chairman and three board members stepped down, replaced by nominees from activist shareholder The Clinton Group.
— Zynga plunged 57 cents, or 20 percent, to $2.24 after the online game maker said that it expects a third-quarter loss due to weak demand and a charge related to an acquisition.
— Dow component Hewlett-Packard fell 12 cents to $14.82 after Moody's Investors Service said it was reviewing its investment-grade credit rating for a possible downgrade after the PC and printer maker cut its profit forecast.
— Avon Products rose $1.05, or 6 percent, to $17.27 after announcing that its chairman and former CEO Andrea Jung will step down at the end of the year. Jung had come under fire for failing to reverse the company's declines and wrap up a bribery investigation.
Stocks rose in Europe, too. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.8 percent, while Germany's DAX rose 1.2 percent and the CAC-40 in France was up 1.6 percent.
The dollar was trading steadily across a range of currencies, with the euro only 0.2 percent higher at $1.304.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 1.73 percent from 1.68 percent as investors shifted money from bonds into stocks.
The price of oil remained lower despite the better U.S. jobs figures as investors booked gains from a big rise caused by concerns over the recent clashes between Turkey and Syria. The benchmark New York crude oil price fell $1.20 to $90.51 per barrel.
Asian stocks advanced. Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.4 percent after the Bank of Japan announced no change in the country's key interest rate. Markets in China were closed for a public holiday.
