Dow Jones average up 94 at 21,414
S&P 500 up 15 at 2,425
Nasdaq Composite up 64 at 6,153
S&P/TSX Composite down 51 at 15,027
US stocks ended the week on a high note, albeit the main indexes were a shade below their intra-day highs.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 21,414, up 94 points on the day, while the S&P 500 rose 15 to 2,425.
In percentage terms, the Nasdaq Composite’s gain was the best of the three main benchmarks, with the tech-heavy index advancing 64 points to 6,153.
With oil stocks under a cloud, reflecting the weaker oil price, the situation was not so sunny in the resource company-dominated Toronto market, where the S&P/TSX Composite declined 51 points to 15,027.
The S&P 500’s rise just about ensured it finished the week higher than it started it; it’s weekly gain was 0.1%, whereas the Dow advanced 0.3% and the Nasdaq 0.2%.
Focus now switches to next week, where the main focus will be the testimony of Janet Yellen, head of the US central bank, to the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, followed by a repeat showing before the Senate’s Panel on Thursday.
Mid-session: Tech stocks rally; Tesla digs itself out of a hole
The Dow Jones was closing in on a triple-digit gain in lunchtime session as stocks bounced back from yesterday’s shake-out.
The Dow Jones was up 97 (0.5%) at 21,416 while the S&P 500 was 15 higher (0.6%) at 2,425. Both indices had to eat the dust of the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which was up 65 (1.1%) at 6,154.
Jobs data for June could hardly have been better for equity bulls. The much larger than expected number of additions to non-farm payrolls suggested the home economy was in better shape than feared, while the sluggish growth in earnings will probably make the Fed think twice about raising interest rates in the near future.
READ Dollar dips on earnings growth worries after very strong June jobs report
Glamor stock Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) edged 1.4% higher to US$313.39 as it revised second quarter delivery numbers released earlier this week.
Tesla delivered a little in excess of 22,000 vehicles in the second quarter, of which a little more than 12,000 were Model S. These numbers disappointed the market, but the company announced today that an additional 3,500 vehicles were in transit to customers at the end of the quarter, which puts a slightly brighter sheen on things.
Elsewhere on Nasdaq, Digital Ally Inc (NASDAQ:DGLY) was celebrating victory in a patent battle with Axon Enterprise Inc.
Digital Ally’s shares shot up 28% to US$4.15, after the US Patent Office denied Axon’s petition for a review of Digital Ally’s patent number 9,253,452, covering the automatic activation and coordination of multiple recording devices in response to a triggering event, such as someone activating the light bar on the vehicle.
In Canada, the S&P/TSC Composite drifted 85 points lower to 14,993, as oil stocks fell in line with the weaker oil price.
Among the tiddlers, M Pharmaceuticals Inc (CNSX:MQ) was a stand-out, rising 20% to C$0.06 after it revised its revenue guidance upwards.
Open: Jobs report lifts sentiment
US stocks opened firmer after a surprisingly strong June jobs report.
The US jobs market proved to be a lot healthier than expected in June, with non-farm payrolls rising 222,000.
The range of forecasts had spanned from 140,000 to 200,000 with the median forecast clocking in at 170,000 so the actual figure is a substantial “beat”.
The unemployment rate, however, was also a tad higher than expected at 4.4%; the consensus market forecast had been 4.3%.
The S&P 500, which plunged 22 points yesterday, was up 9 at 2,418 while the Dow Jones average, which shed 158 points on Thursday, clawed back 62 points at 21,382.
Both benchmarks were outperformed by the Nasdaq Composite, which rose 43 points (0.7%) to 6,133 after shedding 61 points yesterday.
“Job gains, on average, continue to outpace the growth in the labor force, thereby putting downward pressure on the unemployment rate and modest upward pressure on wages,” said John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo.
“Average hourly earnings rose 0.2 percent in June, putting the year-ago pace of wage growth at 2.5 percent. Despite continued steady job growth in 2017, earnings have yet to break out of this mid-two percent pace,” Silvia noted.
Mickey Levy at German bank Berenberg reckons the Federal Reserve will wait until December to see how the inflation trend goes before lifting interest rates.
“The overall solid economic and labor market progress in Q2 will enable the Fed to announce balance sheet policy normalization at its September meeting,” he suggested.
On the commodities markets, oil was taking a hammering as concerns grow that the production cuts agreed by oil producers’ cartel Opec will not be enough to counter over-supply.
The 2.6% fall in the price of the most actively traded contract for West Texas intermediate had a knock-on effect on oilfield services plays such as Transocean Ltd (NYSE:RIG), down 1.2%, and Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA), down 1.4%.