A robust jobs report for April sent U.S. stock indexes climbing Friday in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, UPI reported. The Dow Jones industrial average added 110.08 points, or 0.87 percent, to reach 12,694.25. The Nasdaq was 2,843.56, up 1.02 percent, or 28.84. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 11.27 points, or 0.84 percent, to 1,346.37 in midday trading. The gains came after the U.S. Labor Department announced non-farm payrolls rose by 244,000 last month, and the private sector added 268,000 jobs. The private sector posted the strongest employment gain in five years. "This number is more an indication of the underlying strength of the economy," Margaret Patel, senior portfolio manager at Wells Capital Management, told The Wall Street Journal. "With the Fed committed to keeping overnight money near zero, I think we should see better numbers going forward." The unemployment rate, determined from a separate household survey, rose to 9 percent in April from 8.8 percent in March. The 10-year treasury note was 3.15 percent at midday. The euro was trading at $1.4407, down from Thursday's $1.454. Against the yen, the dollar was 80.35, compared with Thursday's 80.05 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei Average closed at 9,859.20, down 145 points, or 1.45 percent. In London, the FTSE closed at 5,976.77, up 56.79 points, or 0.96 percent.
