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Jobs report powers retail sector; Coldwater Creek raised

(MarketWatch) — Retail stocks rose Friday after the Labor Department reported smaller-than-expected job losses for February while the U.S. unemployment rate held steady.

The S&P Retail Index /quotes/comstock/10u!i:rlx (RLX 435.22, +5.23, +1.22%) rose 1.2% to 435.11 in late trading, extending an advance from Thursday as retailers’ February results showed the best monthly sales gain in more than two years. Shoppers heat up February sales.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by 36,000 in February, with the nation’s jobless rate unchanged at 9.7%. The employment report was better than expected, as economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a drop of 90,000 while expecting the unemployment rate to rise to 9.8%. See full story on jobs report.

The news gave hope that a recovery in employment would make consumers more confident about opening their wallets, analysts said.

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