Dow Jones hits 14,000 - highest in five years
Washington - The Dow Jones index of blue chip stocks went above 14,000 for the first time in five years as new employment figures buoyed the mood on Wall Street.
Even though the unemployment rate edged up in January to 7.9 per cent, from 7.8 per cent in December, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics on Friday also updated and revised the figures from previous months for its year-end report for 2012.
That meant that an additional 422,000 jobs had been created in 2012 beyond what had already been reported on a monthly basis. In the fourth quarter alone, 675,000 private sector jobs were created, making it the second best quarter since the recession ended in June 2009.
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrials climbed 149.21 points, or 1.08 per cent, to 14,009.79. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 14.97 points, or 1 per cent, to 1,512.95. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index notched up 36.97 points, or 1.18 per cent, to 3,142.31.
For the month of January the Dow soared the most since 1994, rising 5.8 per cent, while the S&P jumped 5 per cent and the Nasdaq increased 4 per cent.
The US currency was down against the euro at 73.26 euro cents from 73.6 euro cents on Thursday. The dollar rose against the Japanese currency to 92.8 yen from 91.74 yen.//DPA
