Stocks Soar On Spectacular Jobs Report

Plus 5 New Strong Buys for Today [Kevin Matras] Profit from the Pros By Kevin Matras Executive Vice President [Zacks Investment Research] Stocks Soar On Spectacular Jobs Report Image: Bigstock Stocks soared on Friday after a spectacular jobs report. The major indexes extended their winning streak to three weeks in a row. The Nasdaq, which is already positive for the year by 9.4%, broke out to new all-time highs intraday before closing just under that level. And the Dow and the S&P are only down for the year by -5.0% and -1.1% respectively. The catalyst for Friday's surge was the shockingly good Employment Situation report. Everybody was expecting an ugly number to the tune of -7.725 million jobs lost (on top of the -20.500 million jobs we lost in the previous report), along with a 19.8% unemployment rate. Instead, we actually GAINED 2.509 million jobs. And if you dig deeper, you see it's even better, as the private sector actually generated 3.094 million jobs. It was the public sector that lowered the overall tally by shedding -585,000 jobs. Additionally, the unemployment rate, which was at 14.7% previously, and was expected to come in at 19.8%, fell to 13.3%. Wow! Not only was this one of the biggest jobs gains ever, it was also the biggest surprise we've ever seen in a jobs report ever. From expecting a -7.725 million job loss to a 2.509 million job gain. That's unheard of. But it happened. And you can put that in the record books for all the right reasons. Obviously, the recovery is happening much quicker than expected. And that explains why stocks have skyrocketed more than 40% from their pandemic lows. This goes beyond hope and optimism. This is now being backed up by real data. The bull market is back. Stocks are soaring. The economy is bursting at the seams with pent-up economic demand. And as the economy continues to expand its reopening, stocks are expected to soar even more! There's a reason why top analysts are projecting unprecedented 3rd quarter GDP growth, and gangbusters 4th quarter GDP growth. And we're seeing those reasons unfold right in front of our eyes. The economic foundation was historically strong prior to the pandemic. The lockdown suppressed that economic activity. But the foundation was always still there. And that's why it's bouncing back so quickly right now. This truly is an historic time for our economy and the market. And the best part is, it looks like there's a lot more upside to go. So make sure you're taking full advantage of it. See you tomorrow, Kevin Matras Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research Sponsor [Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?]( Our 5 best-performing strategies have blown away the S&P's impressive +53.6% gain from 2017 through 2019. Amazingly, they soared +65.8%, +97.1%, +118.0%, +175.7% and even +186.7%. Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation. 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