U.S. stocks rallied Friday on the back of a stronger-than-expected July jobs report, which helped lift markets for the week. In U.S. news, the government said that the U.S. economy added 163,000 jobs in July, which was an improvement from an increase of only 64,000 in June. Economists surveyed by CNNMoney had predicted 95,000 jobs would have been added last month. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of activity in the services sector increased to 52.6 in July from 52.1 in June. According to analysts surveyed by Briefing.com, the index was expected to come in at 52.3. The dollar fell against the euro and the pound, but rose slightly versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for September delivery increased $4.12 to $91.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures rose $15.10 to $1,605.80 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average moved up 217.29, or 1.69 percent, to 13,096.17. Shares of American International Group (AIG) were stopped just before the insurance company announced that it would buy $3 billion worth of its own stock from the U.S. Treasury Department. Treasury said it will offer a total of $4.5 billion worth of AIG common stock. The company was rescued by the government during the 2008 to 2009 financial crisis. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 25.99, or 1.90 percent, to 1,390.99. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 58.13, or 2.00 percent, to 2,967.90.
