Stocks continue to see considerable strength in mid-afternoon trading on Friday following the release of a much better than expected jobs report. After moving sharply higher in early trading, the major averages remain firmly in positive territory.
The rally on Wall Street comes on the heels of the release of a report from the Labor Department showing that stronger than expected job growth in the month of January drove the unemployment rate down to its lowest level in almost three years.
Adding to the positive sentiment, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing that its index of activity in the service sector jumped to an eleven-month high in January.
Networking stocks continue to turn in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 4.6 percent. Infinera (INFN) has helped to lead the sector higher after reporting better than expected fourth quarter results.
Significant strength also remains visible among housing stocks, as reflected by the 4.1 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. Financial, airline, healthcare provider, and steel stocks are also posting standout gains amid broad based buying interest.
Meanwhile, gold and health insurance stocks are among the few groups that are bucking the uptrend by the broader markets.
The major averages have been more or less rangebound in afternoon trading, holding on to strong gains. The Dow is up 142.52 points or 1.1 percent at 12,847.93, the Nasdaq is up 43.44 points or 1.5 percent at 2,903.12 and the S&P 500 is up 17.32 points or 1.3 percent at 1,342.86.
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