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Strong job gains send stock market sharply higher

A sign marks Wall Street near the New York Stock Exchange.
(Mark Lennihan / Associated Press)
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The stock market had its biggest gain since September after the U.S. government reported another solid month of job gains.

The encouraging news on the economy Friday paved the way for the Federal Reserve to begin nudging interest rates back toward normal levels at its policy meeting later this month.

Energy stocks didn’t join the rally, and fell instead as the price of oil took another tumble after OPEC said it wouldn’t curb production.

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The Dow Jones industrial average soared 369 points, or 2.1 percent, to 17,847.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index jumped 42 points, or 2.1 percent, to 2,091. The Nasdaq composite increased 104 points, or 2.1 percent, to 5,142.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.27 percent.

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