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US stocks mostly rose on Friday as investors digested the last monthly jobs report of the year, a crucial test of the prospects for interest rate cuts in December and beyond.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) lost about 0.3%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose roughly 0.3%. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) increased 0.8% as Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), and Meta (META) gained, tapping all-time intraday highs.
The daily results of the major gauges also reflected their weekly performances. The Dow shed 0.6% for the week, while the S&P 500 gained close to 1%. The Nasdaq climbed more than 3%.
The US economy added 227,000 jobs in November, slightly more than expected, as the labor market rebounded from October data that was dinged by severe weather and labor strikes. The unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 4.2%. Yahoo Finance’s Josh Schafer has all the details here.
The report largely matched hopes for a "Goldilocks" reading — strong enough to dampen concerns about the economy but soft enough to keep the Fed’s options open on lowering rates this month and into next year.
On Friday, markets were pricing in near-90% odds the Fed lowers rates by a quarter percentage point on Dec. 18, per the CME FedWatch Tool, compared with about 70% before the report.
Meanwhile, the rally in bitcoin (BTC-USD) continued after slipping, trading around $101,000 Friday afternoon. Options show some investors are hedging against a deeper pullback after the leading token’s record-breaking surge to over $100,000 for the first time.
The rally has been spurred by hopes of support for digital currencies from President-elect Donald Trump, who on Thursday named former PayPal (PYPL) COO David Sacks as his "White House AI & Crypto Czar."
On the corporate front, shares of Lululemon (LULU) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) jumped after the retailers both boosted profit forecasts.
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