WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Friday, rebounding following the modest pullback seen in the previous session. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have more than offset yesterday's losses, reaching new record intraday highs.
Currently, the Nasdaq is up 137.44 points or 0.7 percent at 19,838.16 and the S&P 500 is up 21.45 points or 0.4 percent at 6,096.56. The narrower Dow is posting a more modest gain amid a continued slump by shares of UnitedHealth (UNH), with the blue chip index up just 42.78 points or 0.1 percent at 44,808.49.
The strength on Wall Street comes after the Labor Department released a closely watched report showing employment in the U.S. surged by more than expected in the month of November.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 227,000 jobs in November after rising by an upwardly revised 36,000 jobs in October.
Economists had expected employment to jump by 200,000 jobs compared to the uptick of 12,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate crept up to 4.2 percent in November from 4.1 percent in October. The modest increase matched economist estimates.
The uptick by the unemployment rate has increased confidence the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by another 25 basis points later this month.
'Despite the strong headline number this morning, the Fed is likely to note the overall slowing in the job market and cut rates by 25 bps in 2 weeks, unless the next CPI report is white hot,' said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer, Northlight Asset Management.
He added, 'Given the positive backdrop of strong economic growth, a healthy labor market, and inflation that is relatively contained, the Fed can keep cutting rates and that should allow the bull market to run into the end of the year and into early next year.'
Stocks saw continued strength after the University of Michigan released a report showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. has improved by slightly more than anticipated in the month of December.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index climbed to 74.0 in December from 71.8 in November. Economists had expected the index to rise to 73.0.
However, the report also said year-ahead inflation expectations jumped to 2.9 percent in December from 2.6 percent in November, reaching a six-month high.
Sector News
Computer hardware stocks are turning in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index surging by 2.2 percent to its best intraday level in well over four months.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has helped lead the sector higher, spiking by 9.3 percent after Citigroup upgraded its rating on the company's stock to Buy from Neutral.
Significant strength is also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.
Retail stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, while energy stocks are moving sharply lower along with the price of crude oil.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in yet another mixed performance during trading on Friday. While Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.8 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.1 percent.
Meanwhile, European stocks have moved mostly higher on the day. The French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.5 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.2 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has bucked the uptrend and dipped by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved to the upside after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.1 basis points at 4.151 percent.
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