NEW YORK: The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to its highest in nearly five years yesterday, while Treasury prices tumbled after the US unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to a near four-year low.
The dollar advanced to a two-week high versus the yen and the euro gained as investors sold the US and Japanese currencies, which are often perceived as safe havens.
The United States added 114,000 jobs last month, driving the jobless rate down to 7.8 percent, its lowest since January 2009, the Labor Department reported. Payroll gains for both July and August were revised higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 37.17 points, or 0.27 percent, to 13,612.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 1.55 points, or 0.11 percent, to 1,462.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 3.94 points, or 0.12 percent, to 3,145.52.
The S&P 500 rose for a fifth day. But the indexes were off their highs of the day in afternoon trading, suggesting the market may struggle to make further progress with third-quarter earnings season starting next week.
The MSCI global stock index rose 0.4 percent to 336.90. Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 index rallied 1 percent to 1,111.65. The dollar rose to 78.87 yen, the highest since Sept. 19, before pulling back to 78.66 yen, up 0.3 percent on the day . The euro rose 0.1 percent to $ 1.3031.
Safe-haven government bond prices fell. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was down 16/32, with the yield at 1.7271 percent.
Brent futures lost 69 cents to $ 111.90 a barrel. US crude futures eased $ 1.89 to $89.82 per barrel, after climbing nearly 4 percent in the prior session.
Gold touched its highest level since last November, taking a cue from euro strength. Spot gold rose above $ 1,795 an ounce earlier and last traded at $ 1,777.
Dollar hits two-week high vs yen
