Stocks higher after ADP jobs report

Stocks rose in early trading after two upbeat reports fueled optimism about the labor market, a day before the federal government releases October unemployment figures.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 77 points, or 0.6%, to 13,173 shortly after the opening bell, in the second day of trading following the market’s two-day shutdown following Hurricane Sandy.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 6 points, or 0.4%, to 1,418. The Nasdaq rose 17 points, or 0.6%, to 2,994.

Payroll processing firm ADP estimated private-sector employers added 158,000 jobs to their payrolls in October.

“October’s job gains were in line with the average monthly gains of the past two years, with sturdy albeit less than stellar growth across most industries and company sizes,” Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said in a release accompanying ADP’s report. “Businesses have turned more cautious in recent months, but that has yet to impact their hiring and firing decisions.”

The federal government seperately said initial jobless claims decreased by 9,000 to 363,000 last week. The U.S. Labor Department will release October unemployment figures on Friday.

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