Stocks Push Further Into Record Territory Despite Weak Hiring in December - TheStreet
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq pushed further into record territory on Friday, Jan. 5, following a U.S. jobs report for December that came in weaker than expected.
The U.S. created 148,000 jobs in December, the slowest pace in three months. Economists surveyed by FactSet expected 189,000 jobs to have been created.
The unemployment rate in December held steady at 4.1%. Hourly earnings rose 2.5% in the past 12 months, meeting estimates, and were up from 2.4% in November.
The Dow rose 49 points to 25,124 on Friday after crossing 25,000 for the first time in the previous trading session and closing at a record high. Leading the Dow higher were UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) and Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) .
The S&P 500 gained 6.9 points on Friday and the Nasdaq rose 31 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also notched record closing highs on Thursday, Jan. 4.
Stocks have hit records for the fourth straight session to begin 2018.
BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research said the jobs report was "on balance, weaker than expected," but it "doesn't alter the trajectory of the U.S. labor market."
"The labor market continues to expand with wages staying steady and on trend with the lackluster inflation and productivity gains seen recently," according to BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. " This should leave the Fed's view on the economy little changed" following the report.
The Fed has telegraphed it will boost interest rates three times in 2018.
The U.S. dollar index, which benchmarks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, rose 0.1% to 91.97 following the release of the December employment report from the Labor Department.
In Europe, the benchmark Stoxx 600 index gained 0.65%, powered by gains for Germany's DAX index, which added 1%, and France's CAC-40, which gained 0.72%. Stocks in Asia ended mostly higher on Friday.
Gold and Silver Bugs Are Minting Money Right NowGlobal oil prices pulled back from May 2015 highs in early U.S. trading after a surge in U.S. refining capacity -- which leaped to a 12-year high last week -- was reported Thursday by the Energy Information Administration. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.8% to $61.52 a barrel.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares rose 1% Friday after the iPhone maker said all Mac systems and iOS devices are potentially at risk from two security bugs disclosed this week affecting processors used in computers and phones.
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Intel Corp. (INTC) rose 0.6% after a drop Thursday that followed reports of a security flaw in the chipmaker's central processing units.
What Intel's CEO Did With His Stock Should Have Sounded a Loud WarningSears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) said Thursday that it will close more than 100 stores in 2018. The stock fell 2.2% on Friday.
Sonic Corp. (SONC) rose 4.3% after the company topped profit expectations for its fiscal first quarter.
GoPro Inc. (GPRO) slipped 0.3% following a TechCrunch report that said the company was cutting 200 to 300 jobs in its aerial division, the segment of the company responsible for its Karma drone.
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