Late-session buying surge pushes stocks into positive territory

A late-session rally pushed stocks modestly into the black after a very disappointing November jobs report battered equities earlier in the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 19.68 points higher, or 0.17 percent, to 11.382.09; the S&P 500 index rose 3.18 points, or 0.26 percent, to 1224.71. The Nasdaq edged up 12.11 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2591.46.

For the week, the major indices are up about 2 percent.

Ther Labor Department said the economy added only 39,000 jobs in November. Versus expectations of 150,000 newly-created jobs. Also, the unemployment rate moved up to 9.8 percent from 9.6 percent.

Investors might have been persuaded that the worse-than-expected unemployment figures would compel the Federal government to extend the Bush tax cuts and the Federal Reserve to announce more quantitative easing measures.

Factory orders slipped 0.9 percent in October, the first drop in four months.

The Institute for Supply Management's index on manufacturing activity climbed to 55.0 in November, ahead of expectations.

Oil futures rose 1.55 percent to $89.36 per barrel, while gold gained almost 2 percent into another record territory.

Bonds slipped as the yield on the 10-year Treasury moved up to 3.02 percent from 3 percent late Thursday.