S&P 500 Near Record as Jobs Data Caps Post-Brexit Gain
- Strongest job gains since October give stocks another leg up
- Banks, consumer shares pace rally amid optimism on economy
U.S. Employers Add 287,000 Jobs
A week’s evidence that the U.S. economy’s ill health has been overstated and dovish talk from the Federal Reserve combined to briefly catapult the S&P 500 Index above its May 2015 record close, leaving stocks on the brink of ending their longest drought of the bull market.
Gains on Friday capped an eight-day rebound of 6.5 percent that restored $1.4 trillion of market capitalization to U.S. shares, value that was erased in the aftermath of the U.K. vote to leave the European Union. The S&P 500 advanced more than 1 percent for the fourth time in two weeks, after stronger June payroll growth calmed concerns sown by May’s anemic number. Banks, technology and retailer shares were among the biggest contributors to the rally.