US stocks surge on jobs report

US stocks ended solidly higher on Friday after a US jobs report beat expectations. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 146.68 (0.98 percent) to 15,135.23. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 16.48 (1.02 percent) to 1,631.89, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 35.71 (1.04 percent) to 3,479.38. The gains came after the Labor Department reported the US economy added 195,000 jobs in June, well above the consensus estimate of 166,000 jobs. Expectations that the Federal Reserve would soon begin tapering its bond-buying program sent US Treasury yields sharply higher. The bond market spike appeared to drag on stocks as each of the indices briefly tumbled into negative territory in mid-morning trade. But stocks gradually strengthened again and stayed higher through the afternoon, even as bond yields stayed high. "What we're seeing here is the stock market separating itself from the risk associated with the bond market and with other investments around the world," said Bud Kasper, president of the Kansas City, Missouri office of Barber Financial Group.