Sector movers: US jobs data boosts miners

4th Dec 2009 13:37

Mining stocks have stormed ahead after some surprisingly upbeat jobs data from the US. Just 11,000 Americans lost their jobs last month, the smallest decline since the start of the recession Traders were amazed at the figure, having thought non-farm payrolls would fall by 100,000 or more in November.The news lifted mining stocks such as ENRC and Rio Tinto, which depend on a healthy US economy to stoke demand for metals.Meanwhile, the pharma sector is on the up after news that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of its bipolar disorder treatment Seroquel in conjunction with antidepressants to treat major depressive disorder (MDD), gave AstraZeneca a shot in the arm.Astra's fellow drug giant GlaxoSmithKline is also higher.Top performing sectors so far todayMining 21,593.79 +2.34%Industrial Metals 5,151.47 +1.61%Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 8,738.00 +1.51%Tobacco 23,764.20 +1.36%Chemicals 4,514.69 +1.33%Bottom performing sectors so far todayConstruction & Materials 3,225.41 -2.28%Personal Goods 10,444.81 -0.97%Life Insurance 3,877.52 -0.96%Household Goods 6,209.74 -0.89%Fixed Line Telecommunications 1,991.77 -0.88%