U.S. stocks closed modestly higher after the government reported a surge in hiring last month. Employers added 321,000 jobs in November, the biggest burst of job creation in almost three years and far more than economists were expecting.
On Friday:
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 58.69 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 17,958.79.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 3.45 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,075.37.
The Nasdaq composite rose 11.32 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 4,780.76.
For the week:
The Dow is up 130.55 points, or 0.7 per cent.
The S&P 500 is up 7.81 points, or 0.4 per cent.
The Nasdaq is down 10.87 points, or 0.2 per cent.
For the year:
The Dow is up 1,382.13 points, or 8.3 per cent.
The S&P 500 index is up 227.01 points, or 12.3 per cent.
The Nasdaq is up 604.17 points, or 14.5 per cent.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.