Wall Street takes the job report on a positive note
U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, 01 September 2017 closing out the first session in September the same way it wrapped up the previous day and month, as Wall Street read a batch of mixed data, including the headline jobs report, as sapping some of the Federal Reserve's zest for further interest-rate hikes in 2017. U.S. equities finished the week and the first trading day of September with a gain Friday, on expectations that a weaker-than-expected rise in August nonfarm payrolls could dull the Federal Reserve's desire to further raise borrowing costs in 2017.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 39.46 points, 0.2% at 21,997, marking its fourth straight day in positive territory. The Nasdaq Composite Index finished with its 46th all-time high of 2017, up 0.1% at 6,435, and posting a weekly gain of 2.7%. The S&P 500 booked a weekly climb of 1.3% and, ended the session up 0.2% at 2,475.
Dow was powered by moves in General Electric, Chevron Corp. and Nike. recording a weekly gain of 0.8%. The S&P 500 ended at 2,476.55, up 4.9 points, or 0.2%, supported by the energy and materials and financial sectors.
Data on Friday showed the U.S. created 156,000 new jobs in August, a lighter-than-expected increase, but chalked up in large part to regular seasonal slowing. Unemployment rose a tick to 4.4% from a 16-year-low 4.3%. Wages have risen 2.5% in the past 12 months, unchanged from July. The report followed one from Thursday, which showed that the pace of inflation was little changed in July.
Seapartely, the ISM Index for August rose to 58.8 from an unrevised reading of 56.3 in July while the consensus expected an uptick to 56.8. The key takeaway from the survey is that it connotes a manufacturing sector running with a full head of steam, although that interpretation conflicts somewhat with the drop in the manufacturing workweek reported in the Employment Situation report for August. The Construction Spending report for July declined 0.6% while the consensus expected an increase of 0.5%. The prior month's reading was revised to -1.4% from -1.3%. The key takeaway from the report is that the decline in construction spending will act as a drag on Q3 GDP forecasts.
Also, the final reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for August declined to 96.8 (consensus 97.1) from 97.6 in the preliminary reading. The key takeaway from the report is that consumer sentiment remains at high levels despite the (geo)political drama as consumers reportedly have maintained a favorable assessment of their own financial situations.
The ICE Dollar index, a gauge of the buck against a half-dozen currencies, was up 0.2% as gold prices settled, after falling in the immediate wake of the jobs report. It's barely higher for the week, but posted declines in each of the last six months.
Trading activity was light, with volume subsiding after an initial rush of data as traders prepared for the three-day Labor Day weekend. U.S. financial markets are closed on Monday, 04 September 2017.
Bullion prices ended higher at comex on Friday, 01 September 2017 at Comex. Gold climbed on Friday, tallying a weekly gain of more than 2%, after a closely watched snapshot of the U.S. job market revealed tepid late-summer hiring and almost no paycheck growth. The report keeps alive the close debate over whether the Federal Reserve has a green light to raise interest rates again this year given still-concerning low inflation readings, including within wage data.
December gold added $8.20, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,330.40 an ounce.It climbed 2.5% for the week. The most-active contract's roughly 4% August climb was the largest monthly gain since January. December silver rose 24.1 cents, or 1.4%, to $17.816 an ounce, up 4% for the week to finish at the highest level since April.
Crude oil prices edged up on Friday, 01 September 2017 but settled with a fifth-straight week loss as traders weighed storm system Harvey's effect on crude production and refinery demand in the Gulf of Mexico region. Gasoline futures, meanwhile, eased back for the session, but still posted a gain of more than 13% for the week as refinery output remained crippled in the wake of the storm.
October West Texas Intermediate crude rose 6 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $47.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices saw a 2.8% advance on Thursday but ended the week with a loss of 1.2%. They have notched a decline in each of the previous four weeks. November Brent gave up 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $52.75, with the contract ending about 1.5% higher on the week.
The U.S. equity market will be closed on Monday in observance of Labor Day.
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