Perhaps, finally, good news is good news ...
Wall Street snapped its losing streak on Friday after
a surprisingly good reading on the American job market refocused investor attention to the brightening outlook for economic growth.
The S&P 500 gained 2 percent, more than reversing Thursday’s 1.3 percent tumble and leading the benchmark to a slight weekly gain after two consecutive weeks in the red.
The rise came after
new data showed that the pace of hiring picked up in the United States in February, when the economy created 379,000 new jobs, well above forecasts of roughly 200,000. Parts of the economy that were hard-hit by the Covid crisis — such as leisure and hospitality — bounced back during the month.
On the other hand, the report also contained indications that parts of the economy remain troubled. For instance, the broadest measure of unemployment remained unchanged at 11.1 percent.
“The U.S. labor market is beginning to heal,” economists from Bank of America wrote in a client note on Friday. “However, the preponderance of labor market indicators suggest there is still work to be done.”
The tone on Wall Street on Friday was distinctly different from recent weeks, when signs of growth, somewhat counter-intuitively, have been a source of consternation to the market.