By Lewis Krauskopf
(Reuters) - A surge in shares of heavyweight Apple helped push up major Wall Street indexes on Friday, as investors also assessed a mixed U.S. labor market report.
The S&P 500 and Dow industrials recorded their eighth consecutive weeks of gains, while the Nasdaq posted its sixth straight up week, as equities have climbed to record highs.
Shares of Apple
U.S. job growth accelerated in October after hurricane-related disruptions in the prior month, the Labor Department said. But wages grew at their slowest annual pace in more than 1-1/2 years in a sign that inflation probably will continue to undershoot the Federal Reserve's 2-percent target.
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"It kind of confirms this Goldilocks-type scenario where it's steady growth with really not a lot of inflationary pressure," said Michael Dowdall, investment strategist at BMO Global Asset Management in Chicago.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 22.93 points, or 0.1 percent, to 23,539.19, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 7.99 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,587.84 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 49.49 points, or 0.74 percent, to 6,764.44.
Apple was easily the biggest individual boost to the three indexes. The stock also helped boost the tech sector <.SPLRCT>, which climbed 0.9 percent and led all major S&P 500 groups.
"This is obviously the carry-over effect from Apple having a good quarter and a tremendous outlook," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia.
All three indexes rose in a week that saw a series of significant events, including the nomination of a new Fed chair and the long-awaited unveiling of a tax-cut bill from U.S. President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans.
In other corporate news, Qualcomm
Aetna
Third-quarter corporate reports also have continued at a heavy pace. With more than 400 of S&P 500 companies having reported, earnings for the quarter are expected to have climbed 8 percent, compared to an expectation of a 5.9 percent rise at the start of October, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
American International Group
Starbucks
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.09-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.02-to-1 ratio favoured decliners.
About 6.7 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, above the 6.3 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.
(Additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Chizu Nomiyama)
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