Tech leads Wall Street higher; jobs data falls short
DJ: 21,206.29 +62.11 NAS: 6,305.80
+58.97 S&P: 2,439.07
+9.01 6/2
(Reuters) U.S. stocks closed at record levels for a
second consecutive session on Friday, as gains in technology and industrial
stocks more than offset a lukewarm jobs report.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 138,000 in May, well short of the 185,000
expected by economists. The prior two months were revised lower by 66,000 jobs
than previously reported.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.2
percent in May, following a similar gain in April, but the unemployment rate
fell to a 16-year low of 4.3 percent.
Despite the disappointing data, market
participants still largely anticipate the Federal Reserve to raise rates at its June
13-14 meeting, with traders expecting a 90.7-percent chance of a quarter-point
hike, according to Thomson Reuters data.
"It’s
certainly surprising. It doesn’t really correlate well with virtually all the
other data on the labor market that we’re seeing," said Russell Price,
senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Services Inc in Troy, Michigan.
The
modest increase, however, could raise concerns about the economy's health after
gross domestic product growth slowed in the first quarter and a string of
softening data this week, including reports on housing and auto sales.
The economy needs to create 75,000 to
100,000 jobs per month to keep up with growth in the working-age population. Job gains are
slowing as the labor market nears full employment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 62.11
points, or 0.29 percent, to 21,206.29, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 9.01
points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,439.07 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 58.97
points, or 0.94 percent, to 6,305.80.
For
the week, the S&P rose 0.95 percent, the Dow added 0.59 percent and the
Nasdaq gained 1.54 percent.
Industrials
.SPLRCI, up 0.49 percent, and technology .SPLRCT, up 1.04 percent, were the
best performing sectors. The tech sector has been the top performer among the
major S&P sectors, with a 2017 gain of 21.26 percent.
The
tech sector was led by Broadcom (AVGO.O), which rose more
than 8 percent to hit an all-time high of $253.76, after the chipmaker's
quarterly results beat analysts' expectations.
Shares
of financials .SPSY, which benefit from higher interest rates, fell as much as
0.9 percent after the jobs data sparked some worry the Fed could become
cautious after the June meeting, and closed down 0.37 percent.
Energy
.SPNY was the worst-performing sector, down 1.18 percent. Brent oil tumbled
below $50 a barrel on worries that President Donald Trump's decision to abandon
a climate pact could spark more crude drilling in the United States and worsen
a global glut.
Lululemon
Athletica (LULU.O) jumped 11.5
percent to $54.29 after the athletic apparel maker's quarterly profit beat
estimates.
Advancing
issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.34-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq,
a 2.07-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The
S&P 500 posted 28 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite
recorded 82 new highs and 70 new lows.
About
6.37 billion shares
changed hands in U.S. exchanges, compared with the 6.65 billion daily
average over the last 20 sessions.
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