The Dow and the S&P 500 advanced modestly on Friday, though another sell-off in Apple depressed technology shares and kept the Nasdaq negative, overshadowing a sharply better-than-expected jobs report, Reuters reported.
Trading was light, continuing the week’s trend of slight moves and anemic volume. The S&P 500 ended up a mere 0.1 per cent for the week, following several volatile sessions that repeatedly pushed it in and out of positive territory. The benchmark index is just 3.8 per cent below the 2012 intraday high of 1,474.51 reached in mid-September.
Equities opened higher after the non-farm payrolls report, which showed 146,000 jobs added in November, far more than had been expected, while the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 7.7 per cent. A sour reading on consumer sentiment caused an erosion of those gains, though markets rebounded going into the close.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index for early December fell to its lowest level since August. Sentiment fell on growing concerns over the “fiscal cliff” debates in Washington, which have been a major factor preventing broader moves as well.
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Dow, S&P rise on jobs