U.S. Stocks Rise as Jobs Data Offset Fed Stimulus Concern

Bloomberg (08/11) -- U.S. stocks rose, trimming the first weekly drop in a month for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as a better-than-forecast jobs report added to signs growth is strong enough for the economy to withstand a stimulus reduction. Priceline.com Inc. (PCLN) advanced 4.1 percent after reporting sales that topped analysts’ estimates and promoting Darren Huston to chief executive officer. Gap Inc. climbed 7.9 percent as its profit forecast beat estimates. Groupon Inc. jumped 7.6 percent after posting a narrower-than-estimated loss and agreeing to buy South Korean deals website Ticket Monster Inc. A jump in bond yields boosted insurers and weighed on homebuilders and dividend stocks.The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent to 1,759.48 at 11:16 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 79.36 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,673.34. Trading in S&P 500 stocks was 23 percent above the 30-day average during this time of the day. Equity futures initially erased earlier gains after a Labor Department report showed payrolls in the U.S. increased more than forecast in October. After a report yesterday showed third-quarter gross domestic product grew faster than yesterday, today’s data fueled speculation the Fed will cut stimulus sooner than expected.