NEW YORK — Stronger reports on jobs and manufacturing boosted stocks Thursday ahead of the government’s March employment report.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 70 points to a 2010 high on the final day of a shortened week. The stock market will be closed today and the bond market will close early for Good Friday.
Major stock indexes rose for a fifth straight week, giving the Dow its longest winning streak since mid-April last year.
Economists expect the Labor Department will report that employers added 190,000 jobs last month. That would mark the second month of jobs growth since the recession began in December 2007. Government hiring for the 2010 census could provide a temporary boost, but an increase would still be welcome news for stock investors.
“Just getting a number with six digits — over 100,000 — is, I think, very much encouraging to a lot of folks who really believe that none of this counts until we start creating jobs,” said Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial in Boston.
Confidence grew Thursday after the Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment benefits fell last week. A four-week average of clams dropped to its lowest level in 18 months.
Manufacturing figures also raised expectations that a recovery is gaining steam. A trade group’s report found that U.S. manufacturing grew in March at the fastest pace in 5 1/2 years.
Manufacturing reports from China and Europe also indicated that factories are busier.
The market has been climbing with little interruption for a year. In the past seven weeks, the gains have been marked by steady increases that are adding up. The Dow on Wednesday wrapped up its strongest first quarter since 1999.
The Dow rose 70.44, or 0.7 percent, to 10,927.07. The index stands at its highest level since September 2008.
The Dow had been up 100 points, getting within 43 points of 11,000. The index hasn’t topped that level in 18 months.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 8.67, or 0.7 percent, to 1,178.10. The technology- dominated Nasdaq composite index rose 4.62, or 0.2 percent, to 2,402.58.
Even though the stock market will be closed today, morning trading in Treasury bonds will provide insight into how investors are reacting to the monthly jobs report, which is the most closely watched piece of data on the economic calendar.
“It has a ripple effect and a psychological effect,” said Daniel Penrod, senior industry analyst for the California Credit Union League in Ontario, Calif., referring to the health of the job market. A gain in employment would nudge other economic readings higher.
