NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – After the extended Easter weekend, the Dow Jones Industrial and S&P 500 jumped to record levels. The Dow recently gained 1.02 percent to 33 491.26 points. The broader S&P 500 gained 1.18 to 4067.35 points. The Nasdaq 100 selection index, which is characterized by technology stocks, rose 1.45 percent to 13,522.82 points. Since the most important European stock exchanges do not reopen until Tuesday, trading volumes are expected to be below average.
The reason for the optimism is surprisingly robust US economic data. The monthly labor market report was published on Friday. According to this, 916,000 new jobs were created outside of agriculture in March. Experts had expected considerably less with 660,000. Hourly wages fell surprisingly in a month-on-month comparison.
On Monday, the mood among US service providers was also surprising. The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) purchasing managers’ index rose in March to its highest level since records began in 1997. The decline in orders to US industrial companies that was more pronounced than expected by experts obviously did not spoil the mood
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