Surge in hiring last month send US stock prices higher on Wall Street; Bond prices fall

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Stocks are moving higher on Wall Street after the government reported an unexpected surge in hiring last month.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 80 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 15,674 as of noon (1700 GMT) Friday.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 13 points, or 0.8 per cent, at 1,760. The Nasdaq composite was up 45 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 3,902.

Bond prices fell after the U.S. reported that employers added 204,000 jobs last month, far more than economists expected. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose sharply, to 2.74 per cent from 2.60 per cent late Thursday.

Investors took the hiring gain as a signal that the Federal Reserve might pull back on its big bond-buying program.

The Gap rose sharply after reporting higher sales.

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