Stocks soar as US unemployment falls

Washington - The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Friday to its highest level since before the economic downturn after the US jobless rate fell more than expected.

The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 per cent in January, the Labour Department said Friday, reaching a near three-year low as more than 243,000 jobs were added to payrolls.

The-better-than expected report sent the Nasdaq Composite Index to its highest closing in 11 years.

The blue-chip Dow industrials added 156.82 points, or 1.23 per cent, to 12,862.23. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 19.36 points, or 1.46 per cent, to 1,344.9. The technology-heavy Nasdaq increased 45.98 points, or 1.61 per cent, to 2,905.66.

For the week, the Dow was up 1.59 per cent, the S&P gained 2.17 per cent, and the Nasdaq grew 3.16 per cent.

The US currency dipped against the euro to 76 euro cent from 76.08 euro cents on Thursday. The dollar gained against the Japanese currency to 76.6 yen from 76.19 yen.//DPA