The Dow rose Friday, notching its longest weekly wining streak since 2019 after a stronger-than-expected jobs report added to optimism that the U.S. economy will avoid a recession amid ongoing bets for a rate cut early next year.
By 16:00 ET (21:00 GMT), the benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.5% to a new closing high for the year of 4,604.37, and 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, or 130 points, notching a sixth weekly win. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5%.
Nonfarm payrolls spring upside surprise in November
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 199,000 jobs last month after rising by 150,000 in October, according to data from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Economists had estimated that payrolls would climb by 180,000 roles.
Average hourly earnings, a key gauge of wage growth, rose at a monthly pace of 0.4% versus October, accelerating from a previous reading of 0.2% and faster than predictions of 0.3%. The unemployment rate in the world’s largest economy, meanwhile, unexpectedly ticked down to 3.7%.
The uptick in wage growth, which risks boosting inflation, muddied the optimism for rate cuts, pushing Treasury yields higher, though some economists were quick to downplay the strength of report attributed to the return of employers that were on strike.
“Were it not for the strike, November would have been somewhere around 170k and October would have been around 180,000,” Jefferies said in a Friday note.
Bets on an early March rate cut remained largely intact, falling to 44.3% from 54.3%, helped by a University of Michigan survey showing inflation expectations for the next 12 months dropped to 3.1% in December from 4.5% last month.
Broadcom rises despite soft guidance; Lululemon shrugs off weaker fourth-quarter guidance
Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) was 2% higher after reporting quarterly results that topped Wall Street, though the chipmaker refrained from providing guidance for the current quarter. The lack of Q1 guidance “creates undoubtedly creates uncertainty in the near term,” Deutsche Bank said in a note.
Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) jumped more than 5% despite the activewear group reporting fourth-quarter revenue guidance that missed consensus estimates.
The weaker guidance followed better-than-expected Q3 results and upbeat commentary from management on “quarter-to-date performance (including Black Friday week), leaving room for further upside to numbers this year,” Wedbush said in a recent note.
Docusign in turnaround after quarterly results; Smith & Wesson Brands, Bluebird Bio tumble
DocuSign Inc (NASDAQ:DOCU) shares reversed earlier losses, rising 6%, even as the e-signature business presented a margin guidance that some analysts considered to be cautious.
Shares in Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) tumbled 9% after the gunmaker company reported earnings per share of $0.14 in the second quarter, below expectations.
Bluebird Bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) fell 40% after analysts at Morgan Stanley improved their rating of the gene-therapy firm to “equal-weight” from “underweight.”
Energy stocks rise, but set for sharp weekly decline as wreck in oil prices weigh
Energy stocks are set to end the week more than 3% lower despite a jump on Friday amid losses owing to a sharp fall in oil prices earlier this week.
Oil prices ended the day 2% higher, but that wasn’t enough to stave off a seventh-weekly loss as concerns about oversupply and weaker demand persist.
Scott Kanowsky and Oliver Gray contributed to this report.
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