A sense of euphoria got hold of the stock market on Friday when the unemployment report was better than expected.Economists had thought the snowstorms that battered much of the country in late February would have taken a toll on labor figures.When that didn't happen,a relief rally occurred,sending the S&P 500 Index up 3.1% for the week.The labor market was essentially flat,with unemployment staying at 9.7% for February.
Although the S&P surged on Friday,volume was paltry,coming in at less than a billion shares,which throws the staying power of the rally into question.The status quo job numbers hardly seem to justify today's Irish jig.As CNBC's Rick Santelli remarked,the bar for good news in employment is pretty darned low.In order for the economy to grow significantly,much more than holding the jobless line will be required.Nothing that happened this week lessened the credibility of the new normal hypothesis of slow growth and high unemployment for an extended period.
The S&P futures were nonetheless strong this evening,rising 14.20.
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