Stocks surge on strong jobs report

By CNNMoney staffMay 6, 2011: 9:46 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Stocks rallied at the open Friday as investors cheered the news that the U.S. economy added 244,000 jobs in April, much better than expected.

The unemployment rate ticked higher to 9% from 8.8% but investors were clearly tuned into the top-line number.

In early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) jumped 141 points, or 1.1%; the S&P 500 (SPX) rose 15 points, or 1.2%; and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) gained 32 points, or 1.1%.

Friday’s early rally was fairly broad, with 29 out of the 30 members of the Dow and 485 of the S&P 500 moving higher.

The Labor Department’s jobs report blew away most expectations, with economists forecasting employers added 185,000 jobs in the month and the unemployment rate to remain 8.8%, according to a survey compiled by CNNMoney.

Friday also marks the one-year anniversary of Wall Street’s ‘flash crash’ that sent the Dow industrials plunging nearly 1,000 points in less than 20 minutes.

On Thursday, a sell-off on Wall Street accelerated late in the day, as oil prices plunged and other commodities sharply declined.

Investors continued to focus on oil, gold, and silver following the big declines commodities posted earlier this week.

Just a week ago, silver prices were within spitting distance of breaching $50 an ounce. On Friday, silver futures for July delivery dropped 60 cents, or 2%, to $35.73 an ounce.

Gold futures for June delivery was up $11.70 to $1,493.20 an ounce.

Oil for June delivery fell 20 cents, or 0.2%, to $99.54 a barrel, after plunging 8.6% Thursday to close below $100 a barrel.

After 44 straight increases, the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline decreased 0.1 cent Friday, according to AAA. The average price is now $3.984 a gallon.

Companies:After the closing bell Thursday, insurance giant AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) reported a loss from continuing operations of $1.41 per share for the first three months of the year, compared to a profit of $2.16 per share over the same period a year ago. Shares of AIG rose 1%.

World markets: European stocks were mixed in midday trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 slid 0.4%, while the DAX in Germany added 0.5% and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.3%.

Asian markets ended lower. The Shanghai Composite shaved 0.3%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.4% and Japan’s Nikkei tumbled 1.5%.

Currencies: The dollar edged up against the euro, slid against the British pound, and was nearly even against the Japanese yen.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury was very slightly lower, pushing the yield up to 3.16%.