Stocks rose after November jobs data came in slightly better than expected on Friday, but not so hot as to deter the Federal Reserve from cutting rates again later this month.
The Dow Jones Industrial index declined by noon 30.86 points to 44,816.37
The S&P 500 gained 14.1 points to 6,089.21
The NASDAQ Composite surged 115.64 points to 19,816.37. Both the 500-stock S&P and the tech-heavy NASDAQ hit new intraday highs.
The November labor report, released on Friday morning, revealed that nonfarm payrolls increased by 227,000 in November, above the Dow Jones estimate of 214,000 and marking a huge hike from October’s gain of just 12,000. The unemployment rate nudged up to 4.2%, as expected.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury hiked, lowering yields to 4.16% from Thursday’s 4.18%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 95 cents to $67.35U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold regained $13.40 an ounce to $2,661.80 0 U.S.
