Growth in the U.S. services sector accelerated in March, an industry report showed on Thursday, though the pace of employment slackened for a third straight month to its slowest in a year.
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A rapid recovery in U.S. stock prices after the recent slide may be enough to make many investors who remained bullish feel a little smug. That would be a mistake, market strategists say.
U.S. private employers added 238,000 jobs in December, more than expected and the best read in 13 months, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.
U.S. private sector economic activity growth slowed slightly in December, with the services sector reading also edging lower, an industry report showed on Monday.
Stocks rose on Friday, capping the best week for major indexes in months as unexpectedly strong data on economic growth increased confidence that the recovery was accelerating.
U.S. stocks fell modestly on Thursday, with investors cautious with indexes near record levels as they digested recent comments from the Federal Reserve, though some strong corporate earnings provided a reason to buy.
U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Monday, with the Nasdaq ending at its highest level since September 2000, as upbeat data from China boosted optimism about the health of the global economy.
Stocks were little changed on Friday but indexes were on track for their worst week since June as investors found few reasons to buy with equity prices near record levels.
Stocks rose in early trading on Friday as U.S. June payrolls data came in much stronger than expected, though investors questioned what the report meant for the timing of the Federal Reserve's stimulus program.
The Dow industrials lost more than 300 points in a sell-off on Wednesday that drove all major stock indexes down over 2 percent in the wake of the presidential election as investors' focus shifted to the looming "fiscal cliff" debate and Europe's economic troubles.
