The US markets rallied on Friday after the Labor Department released a report showing much stronger than expected job growth in February. The non-farm payroll employment surged up by 313,000 jobs in February after jumping by an upwardly revised 239,000 jobs in January. The street had expected employment to climb by 200,000 jobs, matching the increase originally reported for the previous month. Despite the stronger than expected job growth, the unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent in February. The unemployment rate had been expected to dip to 4.0 percent. The report also said the annual rate of growth in average hourly employee earnings fell to 2.6 percent in February from 2.8 percent in January.
The markets also benefited from easing geopolitical concerns amid news President Donald Trump has agreed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Trump said, “Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze. Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time.” The meeting between Trump and Kim would be the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 440.53 points or 1.77 percent to 25335.74, Nasdaq gained 132.86 points or 1.79 percent to 7560.81, and the S&P 500 was up by 47.60 points or 1.74 percent to 2786.57.
