S&P 500, Nasdaq open higher to extend records with strong jobs report

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq opened higher Friday to extend their record winning streak, after strong US jobs report fueled a positive outlook for recovery in the American economy.

The Nasdaq jumped 80 points, or 0.5%, to a new all-time high of 16,019.10 points at 9.33 a.m. The tech-heavy index is now heading for its tenth daily gain in a row.

The S&P 500 rose 26 points, or 0.55%, to a new record high of 4,706.07 points. The index will have its seventh consecutive daily gain if it closes in positive territory.

The Dow Jones increased 214 points, or 0.6%, to 36,338 points at the time.

The new records came after US economy added 531,000 jobs in October, beating the market estimate of 450,000, the Department of Labor announced earlier. Job additions for September were also revised up by 118,000, from 194,000 to 312,000.

Job additions also helped the unemployment rate fall to 4.6% in October, also beating the market expectation of 4.7%. It stood at 4.8% in September.

Amid a positive outlook, the VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, was down 1.3% to 15.24. The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes fell 2.1% to 1.491%.

The US dollar index, on the other hand, was up 0.1% to 94.44.

Oil prices increased with international benchmark Brent crude trading at $81.10 per barrel -- a 0.7% gain. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose 0.9% to $79.53.

Precious metals were up with gold rising 0.44% to $1,800 per ounce and silver adding 0.7% to $23.97.