For the week, the Dow industrials climbed 1% for their third consecutive week of gains. For the week, the S&P index advanced 0.1% for its third week of gains. Nasdaq scored a a loss of 1.1% for the week.
On Monday, the session began on a positive note as upbeat European trade contributed to the bullish sentiment. However, the strength was temporary and the S&P 500 turned lower once the November ISM Index of 49.5 missed expectations. After sliding to its lows shortly after midday, the S&P 500 remained in the red and settled lower by 0.5%. The materials sector was the biggest laggard as chemical producers saw broad weakness. In addition, utility and industrial stocks underperformed as well.
Tuesday's trade was confined to a narrow range as the S&P 500 opened near its flat line, and spent the entire day within points of the unchanged level. The market did not receive notable economic data and sentiment-driving headlines were limited as well. As such, the benchmark index ended the choppy day with a loss of 0.2%.
Also Read
On Wednesday, stocks finished the session on a higher note, but gave up a large portion of their gains in the final half-hour. The major averages showed notable divergence as the Dow led with a gain of 0.6% while Nasdaq lost 0.8%. The tech-heavy index lagged the broader market due to considerable weakness in shares of Apple which fell 6.4% and saw their largest one-day drop in four years.
Thursday opened with initial uncertainty before the major averages staged a climb to their respective highs. Overseas, Standard & Poor's lowered Greece's long term credit rating to 'Select Default' from 'CCC.' Meanwhile, Germany's DAX closed at its highest level in nearly five years. Domestically, trade was confined to a narrow range, but late-day buying lifted the S&P 500 to a slim gain of 0.3%.
On Friday, 07 December 2012, U.S stocks closed higher after gains from a better-than-expected November jobs report shook off a drop in December consumer sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 81.09 points, or 0.6%, to 13,155.13, near session highs, with 24 out of 30 components gaining, led by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co and Bank of America.
Losses for Apple however, weighed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index which closed down 11.23 points, or 0.4%, to 2,978.04. The S&P 500 Index advanced 4.13 points, or 0.3%, to close at 1,418.07, after dipping into negative territory following the consumer-sentiment index.
As per latest employment data from the Labor Department, nonfarm payrolls came in at 146K versus the 90K expected. The prior reading was revised down to 138K from 171K. The unemployment rate was reported at 7.7%, against an expected figure of 8.0%.
The report also showed that hourly earnings rose by 0.2% while the expectations called for an uptick of 0.1%. Lastly, average workweek was reported at 34.4, which was in-line with the consensus.
Separately, the preliminary University of Michigan Survey for December came in at 74.5, which is lower than the 82.7 that was posted in the prior month, and worse than the reading of 82.4 that had been expected by the consensus.
According to the Federal Reserve, consumer credit increased by $14.2 billion in October. This follows prior month's reading of a $11.4 billion increase, and is higher than the $9.9 billion that had been broadly expected.
Apple shares finished down 2.6% for the day on Friday and 8.9% for the week.
The dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, rose by 0.2% on Friday.
Crude oil retreated from its overnight electronic session high of $86.92 per barrel and trended lower during today's pit trade on Friday. The energy component lost the earlier momentum as concerns over the "fiscal cliff" overshadowed better-than-expected jobs data. It closed lower for a fourth consecutive session, bringing the week's losses to 3.4% as it settled at $85.88 per barrel.
Precious metals tumbled to their pit session lows in early floor action following the jobs reports released earlier this morning. Gold slid to a one-month low of $1684.10 per ounce while silver fell as low as $32.68 per ounce. However, the move quickly reversed and both metals recovered back into positive territory. Despite erasing earlier losses and settling slightly above the unchanged line at $1705.10 per ounce, gold booked a 0.5% loss for the week. Silver closed the session flat at $33.13 per ounce, bringing the week's losses to 0.5%.
Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners slightly on the New York Stock Exchange, where more than 606 million shares traded hands and composite volume topped 3.1 billion shares by the close.
Indian ADRs ended mixed on Friday. Among financials, while ICICI Bank gained 0.2%, HDFC Bank gained 0.07%. Infosys lost 0.4% and Wipro Technologies lost 2.4%. Elsewhere, copper producer Sterlite Industries lost 2.2% and car maker Tata Motors ended higher by 1%. MTNL gained 1%.
For the year, Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 are trading higher by 7.7%, 14.3% and 12.8% respectively.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News