Why the jobs data may feed stocks’ record run W

Why the jobs data may feed stocks’ record run
With Dow, S&P 500 at record highs, jobs data will be key for markets
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — With benchmark indexes at record highs, U.S. stock investors will be looking for ammunition next week to protect those levels and just might find some in the monthly jobs report.

The U.S. Labor Department will release its March figures on nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate on Friday.

The market has risen “partially on expectations that the economy is improving, and now the job numbers have to deliver,” said Matthew Tuttle, chief investment officer at Tuttle Wealth Management LLC.

U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday, with the S&P 500 (SNC:SPX) at 1,569.19, surpassing the record close set in October 2007 but failing to top an all-time intraday high of 1,579.09.

At 14,578.54, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI JIA) also logged a record close Thursday. Trading was closed on Good Friday.

In the first quarter, the S&P 500 rallied 10%, while the Dow industrials rose 11.3%.

“There is not [something] a lot more significant than an all-time high,” said Tuttle, and “we would need something spectacular to get a big push” from here.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expect the U.S. to have created 193,000 jobs in March and for the unemployment rate to remain at 7.7%. The economy created 236,000 jobs in February. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-the-jobs...2013-03-31