LONDON: Stocks on Wall Street rallied on Friday after strong jobs data made it almost certain the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in two weeks, while a surprise move by major oil exporters to keep pumping near-record output pushed crude prices down.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI closed up 369.96 points, or 2.12 percent, to 17,847.63. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 42.07 points, or 2.05 percent, to 2,091.69 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 104.74 points, or 2.08 percent, to 5,142.27.
The dollar rose, gold climbed about 2 percent and base metals, including copper, gained after the U.S. jobs report for November paved the way for the Fed to raise rates for the first time in nearly a decade at a two-day meeting that ends Dec. 16.
The U.S. economy created 211,000 jobs in November, the U.S. Labor Department said. September and October data was revised to show 35,000 more jobs than previously reported.
“The numbers did not disappoint. We cleared the last hurdle for a rate increase,” said Chris Gaffney, president of EverBank World Markets in St. Louis.
U.S. stocks jumped more than 2 percent, with the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 posting their biggest gains in three months. All 10 major S&P 500 sectors climbed except the energy index .SPNY, which fell after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries failed to cap near-record output.
Stocks rallied in a sign investors are taking their cue from economic performance instead of central bank monetary policy.
“We’re going to see the market focused on what the U.S. economy is doing, rather than Fed policy,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network in Waltham, Massachusetts.
MSCI’s all-country world stock index .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.8 percent.
Less-than-expected tweaks to the European Central Bank’s stimulus package on Thursday sent markets into a tailspin but will make it easier for the Fed to raise rates, said Omar Aguilar, chief investment officer of equities at Charles Schwab Investment Management.
The euro, which gained 3 percent on Thursday, will ease the impact of a strong dollar on U.S. corporate earnings, and should help bolster equity markets, he said.
“I can see from now until the end of the year moderate gains, growing into a nice steady pace,” Aguilar said.