NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are climbing Friday morning after the government said employers stepped up their hiring last month, another positive sign for the U.S. economy.
The biggest gains are going to small-company stocks, which stand to benefit from a pickup in the economy. Banks rose sharply after President Trump took a first step toward scaling back financial industry regulations. Major stock indexes remain slightly lower for the week.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 110 points, or 0.6 percent, to 19,994 as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index picked up 9 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,289. The Nasdaq composite rose 14 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,650.
Financial stocks made the largest gains. Dow components JPMorgan Chase added $1.62, or 1.9 percent, to $86.21 and Goldman Sachs rose $6.95, or 3 percent, to $237.26.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks climbed 8 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,365. Smaller, domestically-focused companies may have more to gain than their larger peers from faster growth in the U.S. The Russell made large gains at the end of 2016 based on those hopes.
US JOBS: U.S. employers added 227,000 jobs in January, according to the Labor Department. That’s more than last year’s average monthly gain of 187,000. The unemployment rate ticked up to a low 4.8 percent from 4.7 percent in December as more people started looking for work.
CARD SWIPED: Visa said shoppers stepped up their use of debit and credit cards in the fourth quarter, and the payment processing company also benefited from its acquisition of Visa Europe. Its profit and revenue were stronger than analysts expected, and Visa’s stock gained $4.42, or 5.4 percent, to $86.72.
AMAZON FAILS TO IMPRESS: Online retail giant Amazon traded lower as investors grew concerned about its sales. The company’s fourth-quarter sales fell short of analyst estimates and the company said it expects $33.25 billion to $33.75 billion in revenue in the current quarter. That’s more than $2 billion short of Wall Street estimates. The stock gave up $26.90, or 3.2 percent, to $813.05.
SAFETY CHECK: Network security company Fortinet reported a bigger profit and greater revenue than analysts expected and its stock climbed $4.34, or 13.1 percent, to $37.52 Competitor FireEye slumped $2.29, or 17.7 percent, to $10.68. That company disclosed a smaller profit and less revenue than expected, and it forecast weaker-than-expected sales for the current quarter.
PANTSED: Underwear, t-shirt and sock maker Hanesbrands announced surprisingly weak holiday sales and its stock slumped $3.08, or 13.6 percent, to $19.63.
BONDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.45 percent from 2.48 percent.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 5 cents to $53.59 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 2 cents to $56.58 a barrel in London.
CURRENCY: The dollar dipped to 112.65 yen from 112.70 yen. The euro edged up to $1.0767 from $1.0764.
OVERSEAS: France’s CAC 40 jumped 1 percent. The British FTSE 100 rose 0.7 percent while Germany’s DAX added 0.3 percent. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo finish almost unchanged and Seoul’s Kospi added 0.1 percent. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.2 percent.
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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/marley-jay
