The WSJ reports "the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 17000 for the first time in intraday trading after a stronger-than-expected report on U.S. job creation in June helped reassure investors that economic growth can support stock benchmarks at all-time highs.
The Dow was up 51 points or 0.3% to 17029 shortly after the opening bell. The S&P 500 added six points, or 0.3%, to 1980 on Thursday, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 16 points, or 0.4%, to 4474.
With the move above 17000, the Dow is up 2.4% for the year, and stands 13% higher than it did a year ago. The Dow's move above 17000 comes just 153 trading sessions since it first closed above 16000 on Nov. 21, 2013".
Thursday's rally was spurred by a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that showed U.S. employers added 288,000 jobs in June, well above the 215,000 expected by economists. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 6.1% in June, from 6.3% a month earlier.
"It's a huge boost," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private, which oversees $66 billion.
"Going into this number, I was still concerned: I knew the economy was growing but couldn't tell if we were making up lost ground from winter," he said. "This confirms that the economy is accelerating and I will say it vindicates the equity investors' view."
Evidence of a strengthening labor-market recovery hit bonds, rekindling worries about the Federal Reserve raising short-term interest rates earlier than many investors have been anticipating.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.675% from near 2.630% before the jobs report.
The dollar gained against rival currencies following the jobs report, as investors saw a greater chance that the Fed may raise rates sooner than the widely expected timeframe of mid- to late 2015. Gold was 1% lower at $1,317.90 a troy ounce, and crude-oil futures were down 0.4% at $104.06 a barrel.
Still, some economists expect the Fed to wait for more evidence of a strong recovery before any acceleration of rate increases. "The Federal Reserve has to be happy to see the labor market continues to improve. But the lack of wage pressure means they are going to continue the current path of monetary policy," said Gary Pollack, who helps oversee $12 billion assets as head of fixed-income trading in New York at Deutsche Bank AG's private wealth management unit. "The turning point will come when wage inflation accelerates. Until then I don't think they will be in a hurry to raise rates."
