US close: Dow Industrials sets fresh high despite dollar gains

Wall Street made another push higher with cyclicals at the fore stoked by what some economists described as another "solid" reading on the state of the US jobs market.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrials Average was up by 0.30% or 66.71 points to 22,092.81, while the S&P 500 added 0.19% or 4.67 points to 2,476.53 with the Nasdaq Composite ahead by 0.18% or 11.22 points to 6,351.56 alongside it.

The Dow Industrials thus finished at a new record high, brushing aside a bounce in the greenback that saw the US dollar index end the session 0.76% higher to 93.54.

Pacing gains at the end of the week were: Coal (3.95%), Trucking (1.92%), Industrial suppliers (1.82%), Retail REITs (1.58%) and Exploration & Production companies (1.46%).

US companies took another 209,000 staff onboard in July, according to the Department of Labor.

Separate data showed the country's rate of unemployment dropping by a tenth of a percentage point to 4.3% and average hourly earnings rising by 0.3% month-on-month.

Commenting on Friday's release, Michael Gapen from Barclays Research told clients: "It has been our long-held view that employment gains would remain sufficient to keep the unemployment rate in a downward trend, as has been the case in prior expansions. The July data are consistent with this view."

On a more critical note, in remarks to Bloomberg TV, Mohammed El-Erian said salary growth in the US had been too low, despite gains in employment.

He called for the White House to take action on infrastructure, tax reform and debt, saying the Trump administration could not rely on the central bank.

In other economic news, America's foreign trade deficit shrank by 5.9% month-on-month in June to reach -$43.6bn (consensus: -$45.5bn), the Department of Commerce reported.

Meanwhile, Baker Hughes's weekly figures revealed that the number of US oil rigs in operation fell by one last week to 765.

Front month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures gained on the back of the news, tacking on 63 cents to trade at $49.58 a barrel on the NYMEX.

Mergers and acquisitions-related news was figuring prominently in the headlines, atypically so for a Friday.

"History tells me not to give up as yet, but the data has been disappointing. We are going through a soft patch, and it seems to be a prolonged soft patch," he said.

Stock in United Therapeutics was up by 7.76% on a report that GlaxoSmithKline might join in a bidding war for its smaller rival.

ADP on the other hand was 0.34% lower despite news that billionaire activist investors Bill Ackman had amassed an 8% holding in the payrolls processor as part of his bid to foist change on the board.

GoPro surged after its quarterly earnings and outlook late on Thursday beat expectations, while Weight Watchers International also racked up impressive gains after better-than-expected earnings.

Health insurer Cigna was on the back foot despite posting better-than-expected profit and sales figures, albeit following a sharp run-up in the share price thus far in 2017.

Dow Jones - Risers

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $229.79 2.59%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $152.69 1.30%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $93.69 1.25%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $82.01 0.84%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $31.80 0.76%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $72.68 0.73%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $114.35 0.70%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $33.64 0.63%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $110.11 0.62%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.88 0.62%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $107.69 -1.31%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $63.10 -0.66%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $59.76 -0.63%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $153.82 -0.58%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.30 -0.52%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $80.48 -0.48%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.51 -0.37%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $80.21 -0.35%
Boeing Co. (BA) $237.71 -0.23%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $90.67 -0.21%

S&P 500 - Risers

Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $15.87 9.15%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $27.83 5.50%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $32.21 4.88%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $39.51 4.50%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $33.65 4.31%
Macerich Co (MAC) $59.34 4.25%
L Brands Inc (LB) $43.30 4.09%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $83.49 3.48%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $12.90 3.12%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $43.86 3.03%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $30.22 -13.83%
Fluor Corp. (FLR) $40.05 -8.66%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $9.38 -5.35%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $78.45 -5.21%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $32.92 -5.13%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $22.60 -4.20%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $23.73 -4.08%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $81.17 -3.95%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $29.17 -3.63%
Newell Brands Inc (NWL) $50.69 -3.56%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $83.49 3.48%
Liberty Interactive Corporation QVC Group (QVCA) $24.32 3.14%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $43.86 3.03%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $356.91 2.83%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $56.99 2.67%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $46.40 2.43%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $128.70 2.16%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $55.86 1.80%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $71.18 1.76%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $68.58 1.43%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $30.22 -13.83%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $260.47 -10.91%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $32.92 -5.13%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $22.60 -4.20%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $23.73 -4.08%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $81.17 -3.95%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $29.17 -3.63%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $155.91 -3.51%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $62.01 -3.06%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $194.47 -2.01%