London, Nov 5 (AFP/APP):Blockbuster job creation helped push US stocks to new records on Friday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq smashing through the 16,000 point level for the first time.
The US economy added a better-than-expected 531,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.6 percent, Labor Department data showed, as Covid-19 infections decline across the country.
“When you add in the big upward revisions to August and September’s job numbers, this is a blockbuster,” said Jay Mawji, managing director of the global liquidity provider IX Prime.
“With America’s resurgent economy piling on well over half a million new jobs in October alone, we’re firmly in boom territory.”
The jobs report sent all three main indices on Wall Street to all-time records.
European stocks also ended the week firmly higher, with the benchmark Paris CAC 40 index breaching the 7,000-point for the first time, while Frankfurt’s DAX was in striking distance of an all-time high.