Wall Street Undaunted By Jobs Data >>> Unemploymanr Rate Jumps To 26 Year High

In a fresh sign of Wall Street’s resiliency, stocks held onto their big week of gains on Friday as not even the unemployment rate soaring above the 10% threshold was enough to spook the markets.

The unemployment rate in the U.S. jumped to 10.2 percent in October, the highest level since 1983, casting a pall over the prospects for a sustained recovery and risking further erosion of President Barack Obama’s popularity.

Payrolls fell by 190,000 last month, more than forecast by economists, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The jobless rate rose from 9.8 percent in September. Factory payrolls dropped by the most in four months, and the average workweek held at a record low.

“The rise in the unemployment rate is very ugly,” Ethan Harris, head of North America economic research at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in New York.

Today’s Markets
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17.46 points, or 0.17%, to 10023.42, the S&P 500 gained 2.67 points, or 0.25%, to 1069.30 and the Nasdaq Composite added 7.12 points, or 0.34%, to 2112.44.

For the week, both the Dow and the S&P 500 rose 3.2 percent, while the Nasdaq climbed 3.3 percent.

Friday's resiliency, which was fueled in part by more weakness for the dollar, comes after the Dow soared 204 points a day ago amid upbeat economic reports and hopes the labor data would show job cuts slowed more significantly than they have. The benchmark index had been down as much as 69 points Friday morning before rallying off its lows.

“If you wind the clock back six to eight months, everyone was forecasting unemployment would hit this level. The fact we’re here isn’t much of a surprise,” NYSE trader Jason Weisberg of Seaport Securities told FOX Business.

At the very least it shows there's still some sideline money that is willing to jump in. Looking ahead to next week, we still have the Russell 2000 battling overhead resistance.

Also, the Dow is in a position to challenge its recent highs. A blue chip breakout always makes the headlines so that could generate some buzz. And that is where I will pick up on Monday.

Have a great weekend.