U.S. stocks surged on Friday, with the S&P 500 touching a record intraday high after a second straight month of robust labour market data boosted optimism about the economy.
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The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and one new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 69 new highs and 35 new lows.
Auto-related stocks trimmed weekly losses after the jobs data, led by parts suppliers Delphi Automotive and BorgWarner which gained more than 2.1 percent.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 0.83 points, or 0.02 percent, at 5,158.91.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was last down 0.02% at 18,352.05, the S&P 500 added 0.02% to 2,164.25 and the Nasdaq 100 was up 0.2% at 4,743.81.
The report by the U.S. Labor Department showed that 255,000 jobs were added in July, handily beating economists’ estimate of 180,000.
The Federal Reserve has been saying for months that it intends to raise interest rates if the economy’s strength warrants it. July’s report provides more evidence the economy is doing well, boosting the chances of a rate increase.
Dow industrials bucked its losing streak of seven sessions on August 3 and the wider market enjoyed a moderate advance by piggybacking a rebound in the crude-oil futures.
With financial stocks leading the charge, Pavlik said the jobs number may push the Fed closer to a September rate increase, but he has some misgivings.
However, a lot hinges on the more comprehensive monthly jobs data, which is expected on Friday. “At the same time, I think the Fed is going to feel a little more empowered”.
“We are still in the summer doldrums and in the absence of negative news, we would expect the market to grind higher”, Warne said.
In other economic news, the US trade deficit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/US-trade-deficit-climbs-87-in-june-to-445-billion-2016-08-05)jumped 8.7% in June to a 10-month high of $44.5 billion, reflecting the higher cost of oil and more imports of consumer goods such as cellphones and drugs.
“The most important catalyst for higher equity prices are higher earnings”.
“Current multiples have surpassed anything that we have paid before and we are in the middle of earnings recession”.
Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street as investors welcome a report showing the job market was strong last month. Strong quarterly earnings also helped lift Kraft Heinz and Priceline, which both rose 5 percent in midday trading.
Bristol-Myers Squibb stock sank $12.06, or 16 percent, to $63.26 after the company said its drug Opdivo did not halt progression of non-small cell lung cancer in a clinical study.
The report also showed that the unemployment rate was flat at 4.9 percent, staying below the 5 percent mark associated with full employment.
The pound slumped to $1.3071 from $1.3108 late Thursday in NY. Bank stocks rose on the prospect of higher interest rates and consumer companies rose as investors hope consumers will have more money to spend.
METALS: Gold skidded $22.80, or 1.7 percent, to $1,344.60 an ounce.
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The only silver news is that Dow is only 1.4 percent off in this period.
