Stocks post modest gains

NEW YORK -- Investors undaunted by a surprisingly weak jobs report found enough positive news to nudge stocks higher Friday.

News that the nation's unemployment rate rose above 10 percent last month for the first time in 26 years didn't derail the stock market's strong gains in the week, which lifted major indexes more than 3 percent.

The rise in joblessness to 10.2 percent in October, while bad news for the economy, reassured some investors that the Federal Reserve will have to hold interest rates low for some time. That tends to weaken demand for the dollar, which in turn gives a boost to stocks.

When the dollar is weaker, U.S. goods are cheaper for buyers overseas. Companies that do business overseas also get a gain in profit when their earnings are translated back into dollars.

Safe-haven assets like Treasurys were mixed. Oil prices tumbled, and gold topped $1,100 an ounce for the first time. Gold benefits when investors are worried about a weak dollar and inflation.

Meanwhile, General Electric rose 6 percent after analysts raised their ratings on the stock. It was the biggest gainer among the 30 Dow industrials.

The jobs report bodes poorly for consumer spending, a key driver of the economy.

"The consumer remains cautious and if they remain cautious they don't spend," said Michael Feser, president of Zecco Trading.

Job cuts taper

The Labor Department said employers cut 190,000 jobs last month, fewer than the 219,000 jobs lost in September, but more than forecast. The market has been expecting unemployment to top 10 percent before peaking.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 17.46, or 0.2 percent, to 10,023.42, boosting its gain for the week to 311 points. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 2.67, or 0.3 percent, to 1,069.30, while the Nasdaq rose 7.12, or 0.3 percent, to 2,112.44.

For the week, the Dow and the S&P 500 index added 3.2 percent, while the Nasdaq rose 3.3 percent.

Oil fell $2.12 to settle at $77.87 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold rose $6.40 to settle at $1,095.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, adding 5.3 percent for the week.

Jeffrey Friedman, senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock, a futures brokerage, called the jobs report worrisome. "We're still losing jobs. 10.2 is not a good number. And in reality, it's probably even higher," he said.

Some analysts saw reasons for optimism such as a rise in the number of temporary service jobs. Companies that are reluctant to commit to hiring will often bring in temps to meet demand until they're more confident of a turnaround in the economy.

Linda Duessel, equity market strategist at Federated Investors, noted that payroll numbers turn higher an average of four and a half months after temp numbers begin to rise.

"We've been looking for temps to turn, and they turned," she said. "It's good."

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