US close: Wall Street finishes on mixed note after November jobs report
US stocks ended the week on a mixed note following the release of a somewhat unsatisfactory report on the state of the US jobs market and as traders pulled in their horns ahead of potentially market-moving news on the political front in the euro area over the upcoming weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased 0.11% or 21.51 points to close at 19,170.42 points, but the S&P 500 rose 0.04% or 0.87 points to 2,191.95 points, and the Nasdaq edged higher by 0.09% or 4.55 points to 5,255.65 points.
For the week as a whole, the S&P 500 finished down by 1%, for its first weekly retreat since the 8 November elections.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note down by seven basis points to 2.38% by the closing bell.
Mixed November jobs report
Non-farm payrolls grew by 178,000 in November, more than the 142,000 jobs created in the previous month and just slightly below the 180,000 consensus forecast.
In parallel, the unemployment rate fell to 4.6% from 4.9% in October, which was the lowest level since 2007, but in part because the labour force participation rate slipped to 62.7% from 62.8%.
Hourly earnings were down 0.1% month-on-month, weaker than 0.2% rise expected, lowering the year-on-year rate of increase from 2.8% to 2.5% (consensus: 2.8%).
Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “On the face of it, the combination of falling unemployment and sluggish-looking wage numbers appears to support the idea that perhaps the Fed can allow the economy to run hotter for longer without taking undue inflation risks. But we are very skeptical.”
He added: “The bottom line here is that these data don't change the outlook for the December Fed committee; rates will rise. But if unemployment really is at 4.6%, the next question is just how far wage growth will accelerate next year, and how much more the Fed will have to do in order to cap it.”
Meanwhile, in Europe the main indices were all in the red as investors grew jittery ahead of Sunday’s Italian referendum on constitutional reform. Market participants were concerned that if the outcome was a 'no' vote then political uncertainty would ensue, making the task of sorting out non-performing loan issues at the country’s banks more difficult.
Oil prices were higher following OPEC´s agreement to cut production by 1.2m barrels a day to 32.5m for six months from January.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 67 cents to $51.68 on NYMEX.
In corporate news, Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance’s shares were on the back foot after it lifted its outlook for the year late on Thursday.
Shares in Big Lots gained as the discount retailer reported that third quarter sales were flat and revenue unexpectedly declined, but raised its profit outlook.
Sales were flat around 2%, while revenue slipped 1% to $1.11bn, just below the $1.12bn expected by analysts. It expects adjusted earnings per share to be between $3.55 to $3.60 in the final quarter.
From a sector standpoint, the best performance was seen in the following industrial groups: Gold (3.88%); Coal (3.42%); Mining (3.37%).
Dow Jones - Risers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.16 1.18%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $108.22 0.69%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $82.40 0.66%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $61.13 0.61%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $31.63 0.54%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $111.96 0.52%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $40.36 0.47%
Visa Inc. (V) $75.72 0.38%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $109.90 0.37%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $129.87 0.31%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $223.36 -1.44%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $95.14 -1.14%
American Express Co. (AXP) $71.86 -0.92%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $29.25 -0.68%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $73.13 -0.67%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $98.50 -0.44%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $50.46 -0.38%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $113.00 -0.26%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $81.60 -0.23%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $87.04 -0.23%
S&P 500 - Risers
United States Steel Corp. (X) $33.61 4.93%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $31.44 4.45%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $33.58 4.06%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $28.42 3.76%
Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $33.72 3.69%
Tesoro Corp. (TSO) $84.91 3.28%
Hess Corp. (HES) $57.92 3.23%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $120.81 3.06%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $63.35 2.82%
Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $30.83 2.70%
S&P 500 - Fallers
PVH Corp. (PVH) $102.45 -5.13%
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS) $218.71 -4.15%
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $59.71 -3.80%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $11.67 -3.79%
AutoNation Inc. (AN) $44.67 -3.60%
AFLAC Inc. (AFL) $68.29 -3.11%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $24.30 -2.99%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $75.50 -2.98%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $27.40 -2.84%
Ametek Inc. (AME) $48.01 -2.81%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $31.44 4.45%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $28.42 3.76%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $120.81 3.06%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $63.35 2.82%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $65.84 2.62%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $174.80 2.23%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $73.34 2.17%
CA Inc. (CA) $31.05 2.10%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $102.02 2.09%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $38.87 1.99%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $4.30 -5.60%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $75.50 -2.98%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $27.40 -2.84%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (FOX) $27.37 -2.53%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $57.21 -2.22%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $28.65 -2.22%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $266.67 -2.16%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $26.60 -2.03%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $36.52 -1.99%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $26.02 -1.96%