Wall St rallies as jobs, services data calm worries

Wall Street’s main indexes all gained more than 2% on Friday after December payrolls expanded more than expected even as wage increases slowed and services activity contracted, easing worries about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hiking path.

US nonfarm payrolls rose by 223,000 jobs in December, Labor Department data showed, while a 0.3% rise in average earnings was smaller than expected and less than the previous month’s 0.4%.

In another set of data, US services activity declined for the first time in more than 2-1/2 years in December as demand weakened, with more signs of inflation easing, reported Reuters.

“We got good news on the inflation front with wage gains that are slowing. We got participation rates pick up again and yet we’re still creating jobs. It’s a kind of a win-win for the economy. And on the other side the ISM services report was really weak and broadly weak,” said Megan Horneman, chief investment officer at Verdence Capital Management in Hunt Valley, Maryland.

“That’s basically making people think the Fed is nearing the end of what’s been one of the most aggressive tightening cycles we’ve seen in decades. That’s why the markets are taking off.”

By 4:23 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 700.53 points, or 2.13%, to 33,630.61; the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 86.98 points, or 2.28%, at 3,895.08.