US stocks climb slightly to end strong week

NEW YORK - US stocks posted small gains Friday as new employment data showed companies were adding more jobs than expected.

The gains capped a strong week for major Wall Street indices as investors welcomed both a landslide Republicans win in Tuesday’s congressional elections and the central bank’s plans to buy up another $600 billion in long-term US Treasuries over the coming months.

On Friday, the unemployment rate remained stuck at 9.6 percent for the third straight month, a sign of a stagnant economy. But the labour department said 151,000 jobs were added by employers, more than twice as many as economists had expected.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 9.24 points, or 0.08 percent, to 11,444.08. The broader Standard and Poor’s 500 index gained 4.79 points, or 0.39 percent, to 1,225.85. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 1.64 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,578.98.

For the week, the Dow jumped 2.93 percent, the S&P surged 3.6 percent, and the Nasdaq shot up 2.85 percent.

The US currency climbed against the euro to 71.26 euro cents from 70.42 euro cents Thursday. The dollar rose against the Japanese currency to 81.29 yen from 80.76 yen.