US markets end mostly higher on Friday

07 Dec 2024 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly higher on Friday with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 managed to remain in positive territory and reach new record closing highs, the narrower Dow pulled back into negative territory. The Dow pulled back further off the record closing high set on Wednesday amid a continued slump by shares of UnitedHealth (UNH). UnitedHealth tumbled by 5.1 percent, adding to the 5.2 percent drop seen on Thursday on the heels of Wednesday's fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 benefited from a positive reaction to a closely watched Labor Department report showing employment in the U.S. surged by more than expected in the month of November.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 227,000 jobs in November after rising by an upwardly revised 36,000 jobs in October. Street had expected employment to jump by 200,000 jobs compared to the uptick of 12,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate crept up to 4.2 percent in November from 4.1 percent in October. The modest increase matched economist estimates. The uptick by the unemployment rate increased confidence the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by another 25 basis points later this month.

Besides, the University of Michigan released a report showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. has improved by slightly more than anticipated in the month of December. The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index climbed to 74.0 in December from 71.8 in November. Economists had expected the index to rise to 73.0. However, the report also said year-ahead inflation expectations jumped to 2.9 percent in December from 2.6 percent in November, reaching a six-month high.

Nasdaq rose 159.05 points or 0.81 percent to 19,859.77 and S&P 500 was up by 15.16 points or 0.25 percent to 6,090.27, while Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 123.19 points or 0.28 percent to 44,642.52.


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