US stocks advanced to fresh highs despite weak jobs data

U.S. stocks gained on Friday, as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index erased an earlier decline, amid data showing employers added fewer workers than anticipated in July signaled the Federal Reserve will continue its stimulus efforts till employment stabilizes.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 1,709.67 at 4 p.m. in New York, climbing to a record in the final hour of trading and capping the weekly gain at 1.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 30.34 points, or 0.2%, to a record 15,658.36 today.

“This number isn’t an earth-shaker,” John Manley, chief equity strategist for Wells Fargo Funds Management in New York, said in a phone interview for Bloomberg. “It is debatable if it was good or bad. It was OK. The number still indicates the Fed is going to be there for a while, that is not bad.”

Non-farm payrolls were expected to rise at least to 185 000 for the last month following a 188 000 advance in June. Instead, numbers disappointed with 165 000 new payrolls which is 20 000 less than Bloomberg prediction. Some analyst were even estimating 200 000 new payrolls before the numbers were posted. The unemployment rate dropped to 7.4% from 7.6%.

In corporate world earning season continues as seven of the 10 main industries in the S&P 500 advanced, with consumer-discretionary, raw-materials and technology companies rising at least 0.5% to lead gains.

AIG jumped 2.7% to $48.33. The insurer that repaid a government bailout last year announced a quarterly dividend of 10 cents a share. It also posted net income that climbed 17% to $2.73 billion in the second quarter.

LinkedInadded 11% to $235.58. The operator of the biggest online professional-networking service said revenue soared 59% to $363.7 million in the second quarter well above analyst estimates.

Facebook Inc. rose 1.5% to $38.05, a closing price not seen since the social-networking company’s May 18, 2012, initial public offering. The stock had tumbled to a low of $17.55 in September.

Dell rose 5.6% to $13.68 after Michael Dell and Silver Lake Management LLC agreed to increase their offer for the computer maker to $13.75 a share with a special dividend of 13 cents. Dell and Silver Lake had offered $13.65.

Energy companies lost 0.6% as a group, the most in the S&P 500. Chevron slipped 1.2% to $124.95. The world’s second-largest energy company by market value missed analysts’ estimates as crude oil prices and production fell.