Jobs, manufacturing reports boost stock market

NEW YORK — Stronger reports on jobs and manufacturing boosted stocks Thursday ahead of the government's employment report for March.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 70 points to a 2010 high on the final day of a shortened week. The stock market will be closed Friday and the bond market will close early for Good Friday.

Economists predict that the Labor Department will report employers added 190,000 jobs last month. That would mark on the second month of jobs growth since the recession began in December 2007. Government hiring for the 2010 census could give the job market a temporary boost. Still, an increase would be welcome news for stock investors.

"Just getting a number with six digits — over 100,000 — is I think very much encouraging to a lot of folks who really believe that none of this counts until we start creating jobs," said Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial in Boston.

Confidence grew Thursday after the Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment benefits fell last week. A four-week average of clams dropped to its lowest level in 18 months.

Manufacturing figures also raised expectations that a recovery is gaining steam. A trade group's report signaled that U.S. manufacturing is growing faster than expected. Manufacturing reports from China and Europe also indicated that factories are busier.

The market has been climbing with little interruption for a year. In the past seven weeks, the gains have been marked by steady increases that are adding up. The Dow on Wednesday wrapped up its strongest first quarter since 1999.

A rise in the price of oil lifted energy stocks. Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. rose 2 percent.

BlackBerry phone maker Research In Motion Ltd. fell 7 percent, dragging down other technology stocks, after the company's fiscal fourth-quarter shipments fell short of expectations.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 70.44, or 0.7 percent, to 10,927.07, a new high for the year. The index stands at its highest level since September 2008.

The Dow had been up 100 points, getting within 43 points of the psychological barrier of 11,000. The Dow hasn't topped that level it hasn't topped in 18 months.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8.67, or 0.7 percent, to 1,178.10. The technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index rose 4.62, or 0.2 percent, to 2,402.58.

The Dow rose for a fifth straight week, adding 0.7 percent. The S&P 500 index rose 1 percent for the week, the Nasdaq 0.3 percent.