US stocks surged on Friday to their best levels of the year after a much-awaited July jobs report was better than expected.
The data showed the unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to 9.4%in July as job losses in the month narrowed to 247,000.
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average nailed its fourth consecutive week of gains and has now climbed nearly 45% from its low in early March.
The Dow was up 113.81 points, or 1.23%, at 9,370.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 13.40 points, or 1.34%, at 1,010.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 27.09 points, or 1.37%, at 2,000.25.
Industrial stocks benefited from the upbeat outlook. Boeing climbed 2.57% , DuPont rose 1.14% and Caterpillar added 1.36%.
Fannie Mae, the ailing giant mortgage finance lender bailed out by taxpayers, plummeted 16.46% to 66 cents. The government-controlled firm reported another huge loss, $US14.8 billion in the second quarter, and tapped the US Treasure for an additional $US10.7 billion in aid.
