NEW YORK: The Dow and the S&P 500 on Friday again powered to record highs after a Labor Department employment report showed solid jobs growth for May.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 88.17 points (0.52 percent) to 16,924.28, notching its second record high in a row.
The S&P 500 gained 8.98 (0.46 percent) at 1,949.44, its third straight record close.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 25.17 (0.59 percent) to 4,321.40. The Labor Department reported that the US economy added a net 217,000 jobs in May, in line with expectations.
Economists called the report solid and noted that May was the fourth straight month the US economy added more than 200,000 jobs.
Mace Blicksilver, director of Marblehead Asset Management, said the jobs report boosted investor bullishness a day after the European Central Bank unveiled aggressive stimulus.
"You have the best of both worlds," he said. "You still have stimulus and you get to have a good labor report."
Car-rental company Hertz plummeted 9.1 percent after announcing the company must restate financial results from 2011, 2012 and 2013 due to accounting errors.
Retailer Gap gained 2.1 percent on news that May comparable store sales increased 1.0 percent from the year-ago level.
Dow member General Electric rose 1.5 percent after declaring a quarterly dividend of 22 cents per share.
Other larger moves came from Dow member Pfizer (-1.1 percent), oil services company Schlumberger (+2.0 percent) and automakers Ford Motor (+2.4 percent) and General Motors (+1.6 percent).
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.60 percent from 2.58 percent Thursday, while the 30-year increased to 3.44 percent from 3.43 percent.Bond prices and yields move inversely.
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