Investors Look Ahead To Friday’s Government Jobs Report – Acadiana Business Index

U.S. stocks rise as reports on jobless claims and factory orders were better than expected. Ken Meyers has your stock market report on the Acadiana Business Index.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 81 points, the Nasdaq gained 14 and the S&P added 10.
• In economic news, the S&P 500 rose for a fourth straight day after ADP employer services says companies added 162,000 jobs last month, exceeding economists estimates.
• Friday's government jobs report may show that the economy created 115,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate actually increased to 8.2 percent from  8.1 percent.
• In Europe, the ECB president says the bank is ready to start buying government bonds as soon as the necessary conditions are fulfilled. The ECB kept interest rates unchanged at a historic low of .75 percent.