(By Balaseshan) U.S. stocks ended higher after a government data showed payrolls of the world's largest economy climbed more than forecast in June, but the jobless rate unexpectedly rose to a five-month high.
S&P 500 Index advanced 1.90 percent to finish at 1,390.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.69 percent to end at 13,096.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 2.00 percent to close at 2,967.90.
Payrolls rose by 163,000 in July following the addition of an upwardly revised 64,000 jobs in June, a report from the Labor Department showed. Economists expected a gain of 100,000 jobs. Payrolls measures the change in the number of people employed during the previous month, excluding the farming industry.
Private non-farm payrolls showed 172,000 jobs were added in July, higher than economists estimate of 110,000 jobs. However, unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent from 8.2 percent.
U.S. non-manufacturing sector grew at a fast pace than expected in July, a data showed. The Institute for Supply Management said non-manufacturing index rose to 52.6 last month from 52.1 in June amid fall in employment, while economists expected a drop to 52.0. The employment index decreased by 3 percentage points, indicating contraction in employment for the first time since December 2011.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: PG, KCG, NILE, LNKD, OPEN, ZIP, MCP, SCOR
In corporate news, Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) rose 3.13 percent after the consumer-products giant reported a 45 percent jump in quarterly earnings due to the gain on sale of the Snacks business. Despite revenue missing consensus marginally, earnings exceeded Street's expectations.
Knight Capital Group Inc. (NYSE:KCG) surged 57.36 percent after Bloomberg reports that TD Ameritrade (NYSE:AMTD) will begin routing trades through the market-maker again, and that some private equity firms have shown interest in taking a stake in the company.
Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ:NILE) soared 35.79 percent after the online diamonds and fine jewelry retailer posted stronger than anticipated second quarter results.
Linkedin Corp. (NYSE:LNKD) gained 16.05 percent after the professional network posted in line quarterly earnings on higher revenue. The company increased full year 2012 revenue outlook above Street's view.
OpenTable Inc. (NASDAQ:OPEN) added 15.20 percent after the dining reservation network provider posted better than anticipated second quarter results.
Zipcar Inc. (NASDAQ:ZIP) plunged 35.94 percent after the car sharing network operator guided third quarter and full year 2012 forecast below consensus. The company also posted wider than expected second quarter loss.
Molycorp Inc. (NYSE:MCP) dropped 28.87 percent after the rare earth oxide producer posted lower than predicted second quarter results.
comScore Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR) tumbled 21.36 percent after the on-demand digital analytics provider lowered its full year 2012 revenue outlook and guided third quarter revenue below consensus, backed by lower than expected second quarter results. Following the news, Deutsche Bank downgraded its rating on shares of comScore to "Hold" from "Buy".
Global Markets:
European markets closed on a positive note after strong U.S. payrolls report. Germany's DAX climbed 3.93 percent to close at 6,865.66. France's CAC40 jumped 4.38 percent to finish at 3,374.19. U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 2.21 percent to end at 5,787.28.
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index gained 1.02 percent to finish at 2,132.80. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.13 percent to end at 8,555.11. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.12 percent to end at 19,666.18. India's BSE Sensex finished at 17,197.93, down 0.15 percent.
Commodity & Currency Scan:
Crude oil futures advanced 4.90 percent to $91.400 per barrel, while natural gas futures retreated 1.71 percent to $2.87 per million metric British thermal units. Gold futures added 0.99 percent to $1,606.50 per ounce and silver futures gained 2.65 percent to $27.71 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro advanced 1.61 percent against the U.S. dollar to 1.2376. The British pound added 0.81 percent against the greenback to 1.5640, and the dollar edged 0.43 percent higher against the Japanese yen to 78.5800.