Stocks bounce as job cuts fall in line
Wall Street bounces off multi-year lows despite a bleak February employment report.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks rallied Friday morning as investors were heartened that the February jobs report wasn't worse and scooped up select issues hit in the recent selloff that left the Dow and S&P 500 at 12-year lows.
The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) rallied 128 points, or 1.9%, after ending the previous session at its lowest point since April 15, 1997. The Dow has now fallen 14 of the last 18 sessions.
The S&P 500 (SPX) index jumped 13 points, or 1.9%, after ending the previous session at its lowest point since Sept. 18, 1996.
The Nasdaq composite (COMP) gained 15 points, or 1.2%, after it closed at its lowest point since March 12, 2003, at the bottom of the previous bear market.
U.S. stocks tumbled Thursday after General Motors said it might have trouble remaining in business, Citigroup stock fell below $1 a share, and China failed to deliver a boost to its stimulus plan that was widely expected. The Dow and S&P tumbled more than 4% to 12-year lows, while the Nasdaq fell 4% to a 6-year low.
Economy: The government said the economy lost 651,000 jobs in February, just slightly more than expected. Employers cut a revised 655,000 in January. The December report was revised to a loss of 681,000, the most lost in any month since 1949.
Unemployment rose to 8.1%, higher than the 7.9% forecast by Briefing.com.
The jobs report is always the biggest number of the month, and given the huge amount of cuts expected, this month is especially important, said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.
Before the report Hogan predicted the number would come in close to estimates and stocks would rally.
"Everyone's expecting a bigger number," he said. "This news has been priced in."
Also on tap Friday, the government issues its report on consumer credit for January at 3 p.m. ET.
Companies: Dow component Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500) said Friday it will invest an additional $2 billion in China over the next three years. That's in addition to a $2.4 billion bid for a Chinese juice maker that's being reviewed by the Beijing government.
Markets: Asian stocks ended lower Friday, following Wall Street's lead, with Tokyo's Nikkei index down 3.5%. European stocks fell.
Oil rose $1.48 to $45.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dollar rose against the euro and pound and fell versus the yen. 
