(Finance) Stocks Gain After US 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. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 58 points at 13,633. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose six points to 1,467. The Nasdaq composite was up nine points to 3,159. All 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 rose, led by a 1 percent gain for materials stocks. "We're in rally mode, so slightly positive numbers will do nothing to hinder that," said Ralph Fogel, investment strategist and partner at Fogel Neale Partners in New York. U.S. stocks making noteworthy moves included: — Zynga plunged 48 cents, or 17.6 percent, to $2.32 after the online game maker said that it expects a third-quarter loss due to weak demand and a charge related to an acquisition. AP In this Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012, file photo,... View Full Caption — Dow component Hewlett-Packard fell 17 cents to $14.77 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, or 6.2 percent, to $17.22 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 0.6 percent, while Germany's DAX rose 1.2 percent and the CAC-40 in France was up 1.4 percent. The dollar was trading steadily across a range of currencies, with the euro only 0.2 percent higher at $1.305. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 1.71 percent from 1.68 percent as investors shifted money from bonds into stocks. The price of oil fell 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 $1.77 to $89.94 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.