Highlights
Stocks were mostly better Friday as megacap technology shares lifted the major indexes amid ongoing AI enthusiasm. The Dow Jones industrial average firmed 0.2 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq advanced by 0.9 percent. The S&P and Nasdaq again set record closing highs. Bond yields and oil prices declined while the dollar rose.
Falling market interest rates after Friday's employment report helped growth stocks outperform. The headline gain in jobs slightly topped expectations but investors focused on the uptick in the unemployment rate and downward revisions to prior months' gains in payrolls as signs of a moderating labor market. This followed much weaker than expected showings on Wednesday from the ADP employment report, jobless claims, and the service purchasing managers report.
Big winners Friday included Tesla, up a remarkable 26 percent in the last five days, and Meta, up 6 percent Friday after posting strong quarterly results this week. Best sectors included pharma, software, department stores, health & personal care, and industrial metals. Lagging were energy, hospitals, machinery, chemicals, aerospace & defense, and transports.
Among tech megacaps, Nvidia and Tesla led the winners. Best sectors were transports, chipmakers, machinery, chain stores, auto suppliers, casinos, media and industrial metals. Lagging were grocery stores, banks, credit cards, insurance, drug stores, managed care, pharma, and health & personal care. Cryptocurrency stocks were notable losers as bitcoin prices dropped on worries about liquidations from the bankruptcy of Mt. Gox, formerly the leading crypto exchange.
Falling market interest rates after Friday's employment report helped growth stocks outperform. The headline gain in jobs slightly topped expectations but investors focused on the uptick in the unemployment rate and downward revisions to prior months' gains in payrolls as signs of a moderating labor market. This followed much weaker than expected showings on Wednesday from the ADP employment report, jobless claims, and the service purchasing managers report.
Big winners Friday included Tesla, up a remarkable 26 percent in the last five days, and Meta, up 6 percent Friday after posting strong quarterly results this week. Best sectors included pharma, software, department stores, health & personal care, and industrial metals. Lagging were energy, hospitals, machinery, chemicals, aerospace & defense, and transports.
Among tech megacaps, Nvidia and Tesla led the winners. Best sectors were transports, chipmakers, machinery, chain stores, auto suppliers, casinos, media and industrial metals. Lagging were grocery stores, banks, credit cards, insurance, drug stores, managed care, pharma, and health & personal care. Cryptocurrency stocks were notable losers as bitcoin prices dropped on worries about liquidations from the bankruptcy of Mt. Gox, formerly the leading crypto exchange.
Definition
Market Reflections track market reaction to the trading day's major events. Economic data, policymaker speeches, and company news are featured in this report as well as key indexes and financial instruments.
Description
Understanding why markets respond as they do is fundamental for an investor. Market Reflections help explain how the day's events, news, and data impact the outlook for the economy and for market prices.
