Stocks rallied near the close of US sharemarkets on Friday, after falling to new lows for the year during the session, as investors reacted to the June jobs report, which showed a smaller than expected rise in private sector hiring and a drop in the overall number of non-farm payrolls.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained a few points after having fallen as much as 118 points earlier. The Dow lost 46.05 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 9,686.48.

The Nasdaq composite also inched higher, losing 9.57 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 2,091.79, while the S&P 500 index also advanced modestly, losing 4.79 points or 0.47 percent, to close at 1,022.58

On Thursday, the Dow and Nasdaq ended at eight-month lows and the S&P 500 at nine-month lows.

Stocks slid through most of the day as investors digested the jobs report ahead of a long holiday weekend. All US financial markets are closed on Monday because of Independence Day.

The price of oil lost US$1.01 for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange, falling to $71.94 a barrel. The price of gold on the COMEX index for August delivery rose US$3.90 to be worth $1,210.60 an ounce.

The greenback fell against the euro, but was up slightly versus the yen.

© NewsRoom 2010