US markets end volatile session in green on Friday

06 Jan 2024 Evaluate

The US markets ended the volatile session in green with marginal gains on Friday as traders reacted to the release of some key U.S. economic data, including a closely watched Labor Department report showing stronger than expected job growth in December. Initially, the data raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates, however positive sentiment prevailed as traders digested the details of the report, which also showed notable downward revisions to job growth in October and November. The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment surged by 216,000 jobs in December compared to street estimates for an increase of about 170,000 jobs. At the same time, the increases in employment in October and November were downwardly revised to 105,000 jobs and 173,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 71,000 jobs.

The Institute for Supply Management also released a report showing a bigger than expected slowdown in the pace of U.S. service sector growth. The ISM said its services PMI fell to 50.6 in December from 52.7 in November. While a reading above 50 still indicates growth, street had expected the index to show a much more modest decrease to 52.6. The data also contributed to significant volatility in the bond markets, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing above 4.0 percent for the first time in over four weeks. Meanwhile, traders remained on sidelines ahead of inflation data which is likely to be release in next week, as the Labor Department is scheduled to release separate reports on consumer and producer price inflation.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 25.77 points or 0.07 percent to 37,466.11, Nasdaq added 13.77 points or 0.09 percent to 14,524.07 and S&P 500 was up by 8.56 points 0.18 percent to 4,697.24.

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