Bank stocks and sector-related exchange traded funds led market gains Friday after the Labor Department reported robust job creation in July, adding to speculation that the Federal Reserve may have room to hike interest rates later this year.
Among the top performing ETFs of Friday, the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (NYSEArca: KBE) rose 3.1%, SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (NYSEArca: KRE) gained 3.3%, iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (NYSEArca: IAT) increased 3.0% and PowerShares KBW Regional Bank Portfolio (NYSEArca: KBWR) advanced 3.2%.
Meanwhile, the broad Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLF), which includes a 33.5% tilt toward the bank sub-sector, was up 1.7% on Friday. It only took eight months, but the financial sector is finally in the black this year, with XLF up 0.6% year-to-date.
SEE MORE: As Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged, Big Bank ETFs Celebrate
Supporting the rally in financials Friday, the Labor Department revealed employers added 255,000 jobs in July, reports David Harrison for the Wall Street Journal. The average hourly earnings ticked up by 0.3% month-over-month and up 2.6% year-over-year. The labor-force participation rate also rose to 62.8% from 62.7%.
[related_stories]All-in-all, the uplifting data signal the economy is not at risk of cutting jobs any time soon and suggest the weak May report was an anomaly. Moreover, it seems employers have shaken off concerns of a post-Brexit environment.