U.S. Stocks Rise on Jobs Growth; Schlumberger, Apple Advance

Energy and computer companies rallied, carrying the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to its third advance this week, after a better-than-expected jobs report outweighed concern banks face mounting credit losses.

Schlumberger Ltd. and Halliburton Co., the biggest oilfield services companies, gained as oil rose to a record $95.93 a barrel. Apple Inc., Google Inc. and Intel Corp. climbed on prospects employment growth will increase consumer spending, helping the economy avoid a recession.

Merrill Lynch & Co. led financial shares to their steepest two-day loss since 2002 as the market completed its second weekly decline in two months. The S&P 500 rose 1.21, or 0.1 percent, to 1,509.65 today, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 27.23, or 0.2 percent, to 13,595.1 and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 15.55, or 0.6 percent, to 2,810.38. About 18 stocks gained for every 17 that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

``Energy, technology -- they have ties back to strong global growth,'' said Mark Bronzo, who helps manage $500 million at Nationwide Separate Accounts in Irvington, New York. ``Today's jobs number give you some comfort that the domestic economy is not getting worse, so that's good news.''

The gain of 166,000 jobs in October was almost double the forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey. The Labor Department report helped the S&P 500 recover some of yesterday's 2.6 percent drop, its worst since August, spurred by speculation Citigroup Inc. will have to cut its dividend to retain capital.

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