US stocks approach records after strong jobs report

The broad S&P 500 stock index closed 0.9 percent higher at 2182.87, a few points above its all time closing high of 2175.03, which occurred on July 22. Financials and technology stocks led the gains, up 1.9% and 1.2%, respectively, while defensive sectors such as utilities and telecoms lagged behind.

The S&P 500 posted 29 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 118 new highs and 20 new lows.

At 9:31 a.m. ET (1331 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 30.27 points, or 0.16 percent, at 18,385.27. The Nasdaq composite is up 37 points, or 0.7 percent, at 5,204.

Wall Street held near the unchanged mark on Thursday as investors exercised caution ahead of Friday’s USA payrolls report. That’s a solid jump from before the pre-market jobs news, when Dow futures were up only about 24 points.

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. “This month’s report confirms that the Great Recession is indeed in the nation’s rear-view mirror”.

The data also suggests that the April and May jobs data was an aberration and that June was more consistent with what is going on in the economy, he said. The probability of a rate increase in December rose to 46% from 32% Wednesday.

The momentum on Wall Street Friday was carried by a positive jobs report for July, which saw about 255,000 created for the month – far above the 180,000-190,000 range analysts expected – and the unemployment rate under 5 percent. The corporate purchases and funding scheme were a real surprise, he said.

Movers and shakers: Shares of FireEye Inc.(FEYE) tumbled 12% after the security-software company late Thursday reported disappointing earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fireeye-plans-layoffs-as-new-ceo-takes-the-helm-2016-08-04) and announced plans for hundreds of job cuts.

Healthcare shares were lower, weighed down by a 2.7 per cent drop in Biogen, Reuters reported the company has not received any formal expressions of interest from potential acquirers a day after buyout reports on Tuesday sent the stock up more than nine per cent.

Kraft Heinz jumped 5.5 percent after reporting second-quarter net income of $770 million, compared with a loss of $344 million in the year-ago period. Opdivo is used to treat several types of cancer and Bristol-Myers brought in $1.5 billion in revenue from the drug in the first half of this year, but the company has continued running studies in the hope of winning new marketing approvals.

The pound slumped to $1.3071 from $1.3108 late Thursday in NY.

If the labour market is able to build on its recent strength, it could make the case for the Federal Reserve to raise benchmark USA interest rates later this year.

Gold futures fell, the value of the US dollar rose, and American government bonds pulled back Friday.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude slid 57 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $41.36 per barrel in NY while Brent crude, used to price global oils, lost 49 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $43.80 a barrel in London.