US employment disappoints, stocks hit record high

The US employment report released on Tuesday disappointed economists as payrolls rose 148,000 in September, lower than expectations for a 180,000 gain and down from the increase of 193,000 in August.

Investors, though, were apparently pleased with the report. The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent on Tuesday to another record high.

Other US economic data on Tuesday looked somewhat stronger.

The employment report showed that the unemployment rate fell to 7.2 percent, the lowest level since November 2008.

A separate report showed that construction spending rose 0.6 percent in August, its fifth consecutive increase.