NEW YORK, July 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks rallied Friday as Wall Street cheered over the country's better-than-expected jobs report for June.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94.30 points, or 0.44 percent, to 21,414.34. The S&P 500 added 15.43 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,425.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 63.61 points, or 1.04 percent, to 6,153.08.
U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 222,000 in June, well above market consensus of 170,000, the Labor Department announced Friday. The unemployment rate was little changed at 4.4 percent in June.
In June, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 4 cents to 26.25 U.S. dollars. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 63 cents, or 2.5 percent.
"This was a strong jobs report, with a better-than-expected payroll rise augmented by a solid upward revision," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial.
"From a longer term perspective, this jobs report confirms the economy is humming along at a moderate pace with no significant wage pressures. The Fed can and should take its time normalizing policy," he wrote.
Meanwhile, oil prices were also in focus, which settled about 3 percent lower Friday, as worries about a global supply glut dampened investors' sentiment.
For the holiday-shortened week, all three major indices witnessed modest gains, with the Dow, the S&P500 and the Nasdaq going up 0.3 percent, 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
