The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,797.46 on Friday with a gain of 69.31 points or 0.26%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,978.71 for a gain of 2.71 points or 0.09%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 8,103.07 for a loss of 13.75 points or -0.17%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 15.03 for a loss of 1.24 points or -7.62%.
For the week, the Dow gained 1.5%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both gained approximately 1.8%. For the year, the Nasdaq has a gain of 22.1%, the S&P 500 has a gain of 18.8% and the Dow Jones has a gain of 14.9%.
Friday’s market movers
A strong labor market report helped large-cap stocks continue a three-day rally. The U.S. labor market added 130,000 jobs in August, just below the 151,000 forecasted. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7%. Speaking from an event in Zurich, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the August jobs report showed strength, though investors saw the slightly weaker report potentially adding to the case for a September rate cut.
The Nasdaq was lower Friday after U.S. states announced they would be launching their own big tech probes beginning next week. The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.13% on Friday.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ August Employment Situation report showed nonfarm payrolls increasing by 130,000 following an increase of 159,000. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7%.
- Within the Employment Situation report, average hourly earnings increased 0.4% in August and 3.2% year over year, average weekly hours increased to 34.4 from 34.3, government payrolls increased by 34,000, private sector payrolls increased by 96,000 and manufacturing payrolls increased by 3,000.
- The Baker Hughes North American oil rig count decreased to 1,045 from 1,054.
In the S&P 500, the energy, materials and consumer staples sectors led gains. In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
- Intel (INTC, Financial) 1.64%
- Home Depot (HD, Financial) 1.31%
- Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA, Financial) 1.11%
- Exxon (XOM, Financial) 0.94%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,505.17 for a loss of 5.58 points or -0.37%. The S&P 600 closed at 930.11 for a loss of 2.29 points or -0.25%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 9,785.61 for a loss of 41.32 points or -0.42%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 9,197.13 for a loss of 0.97 points or -0.01%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,911.51 for a loss of 1.12 points or -0.059%; the S&P 100 at 1,315.73 for a gain of 0.22 points or 0.017%; the Nasdaq 100 at 7,852.54 for a loss of 10.00 points or -0.13%; the Russell 3000 at 1,743.61 for a gain of 0.71 points or 0.041%; the Russell 1000 at 1,646.45 for a gain of 1.13 points or 0.069%; the Wilshire 5000 at 30,402.28 for a gain of 6.90 points or 0.023%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 709.84 for a gain of 1.33 points or 0.19%.
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