NEW YORK, May 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended noticeably higher on Friday even after data showed a record 20.5 million jobs were lost in the world's largest economy last month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 455.43 points, or 1.91 percent, to 24,331.32. The S&P 500 increased 48.61 points, or 1.69 percent, to 2,929.80. The Nasdaq Composite Index soared 141.66 points, or 1.58 percent, to 9,121.32.
All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors rallied, with energy closing up 4.34 percent, outpacing the rest. Industrials and materials rose 2.5 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively, also among the best performers.
U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million in April, and the unemployment rate rose to 14.7 percent, due to the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Employment fell sharply in all major industry sectors, with particularly heavy job losses in leisure and hospitality, said the report.
"Huge job losses and a post-Great Depression high in the unemployment rate nevertheless understate the full extent of the damage in the labor market in April," Chris Low, chief economist at FHN Financial, said in a note, while commenting on the dismal jobs data.
"The report was still so bad it was ignored by markets, which failed to move," Low added.
Wall Street also weighed the possibility of normalizing economic activities as a growing number of U.S. states started to loosen coronavirus-tied lockdowns.
As of Friday afternoon, more than 1.27 million confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States, with over 76,000 deaths, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 455.43 points, or 1.91 percent, to 24,331.32. The S&P 500 increased 48.61 points, or 1.69 percent, to 2,929.80. The Nasdaq Composite Index soared 141.66 points, or 1.58 percent, to 9,121.32.
All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors rallied, with energy closing up 4.34 percent, outpacing the rest. Industrials and materials rose 2.5 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively, also among the best performers.
U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million in April, and the unemployment rate rose to 14.7 percent, due to the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Employment fell sharply in all major industry sectors, with particularly heavy job losses in leisure and hospitality, said the report.
"Huge job losses and a post-Great Depression high in the unemployment rate nevertheless understate the full extent of the damage in the labor market in April," Chris Low, chief economist at FHN Financial, said in a note, while commenting on the dismal jobs data.
"The report was still so bad it was ignored by markets, which failed to move," Low added.
Wall Street also weighed the possibility of normalizing economic activities as a growing number of U.S. states started to loosen coronavirus-tied lockdowns.
As of Friday afternoon, more than 1.27 million confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States, with over 76,000 deaths, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
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