Stocks climbed on Friday, ending up for the second week in a row as investors hoped a weaker-than-expected jobs report would keep pressure the Federal Reserve to put the brakes on its incremental increases in interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.03 points on Friday, or 1.2 percent, to close the week at 10,716.13. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 13.14 points, 1.1 percent, ending trading at 1,203.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 29.02, or 1.4 percent, to close at 2,086.66.
For the week, the Dow ended up 2.8 percent, the S & P; rose 2.7 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 2.5 percent.
U.S. employers added 146,000 jobs in January, according to Labor Department figures released Friday, well below the earlier projection of 190,000. The department also revised downward the December jobs data.
Among local movers, shares of HomeStore Inc. catapulted 25.5 percent to close at $3.00 after the Westlake Village-based firm announced after Thursday’s market close that it its Realtor.com unit had signed a marketing deal with NRT Inc., parent of Coldwell Banker, ERA and Sotheby’s International Realty, to feature their listings and other services on its site. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. Also, HomeStore’s stock rating was upgraded Friday to “buy” from “accumulate” by ThinkEquity Partners. The 12-month price target was set at $5 per share.
Shares of Ixia gained 17.5 percent to settle at $17.10 after the Calabasas-based company announced fourth quarter results after market close on Thursday. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, the high-speed data communications firm reported net income of $7.6 million (11 cents per diluted share), versus $2.3 million (4 cents) for the comparable quarter of 2003. Revenues rose 53 percent to $35.2 million from $23 million in the like year-earlier quarter of 2003.
On the down side, shares of Magnetek Inc. dropped 4.4 percent to $5.45 after its stock was cut to “hold” from “buy” by Wells Fargo Securities. Magnetek also announced second quarter earnings Thursday morning. For the second quarter ended Dec. 31, the L.A.-based digital power electronic products maker reported net income of $562,000 (2 cents per diluted share), versus a loss of $4 million (15 cents) in the year-prior quarter.
And LTC Properties Inc. lost 1.4 percent to $18.81 after the Malibu-based health care real estate investment trust’s stock rating was downgraded to “hold” from “buy” by Legg Mason Wood Walker.
