Markets Shake Off Bad Jobs News, Stage Strong Rally

A day that looked like it was headed for a big sell-off on Wall Street instead managed to sustain a respectable rally.

Traders were surprised by worse-than-expected new jobless claims news announced before the opening bell, and sent stock futures down sharply.

But this market has proved amazingly resilient -- especially considering the underlying weakness of the economy, with unemployment still high and consumer sentiment backsliding -- and Wall Street shook off the bad news on jobs.

The markets closed up across the board, pulling back almost to even for the week, a remarkable feat considering Monday's big plunge.

The Dow closed up .76 percent to finish at 9,350.05.

The broader S&P 500 closed up 1.09 percent at 1,007.37.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed up 1.01 percent at 1,989.22.

Retail giant Gap reported second-earnings after the bell, beating Wall Street expectations by one penny, despite a 7 percent year-over-year drop in revenue.

Before the opening bell, Sears already shook the retail sector with a pre-market surprise second-quarter loss, when forecasters expected a profit.

-- Frank Ahrens
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