Dow nearly makes 20,000; S&P 500, Nasdaq hit highs
The Dow's quest for the historic 20,000 milestone turned into must-watch TV Friday, as the blue-chip gauge climbed within 0.37 points of making history around 12:44 p.m. ET, before being repelled by an imaginary ceiling amid cries of frustration by traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq composite closed at all-time highs, up 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively. The Dow came close, finishing at 19,963.80 — up 65 points, or 0.3% — after shrinking back. The S&P 500 ended the week at 2276.98 and the Nasdaq closed at 5521.06.
A roar arose from the NYSE floor as the Dow came within a half-point of 20,000, but it wasn't meant to be. The blue-chip index has been flirting with 20,000 for several weeks now and so far each time it gets near the historic milestone it backs away.
Technology stocks led the market higher as Facebook (FB) rose more than 2.3% and Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) also climbed.
Stocks initially were trading in a lackluster fashion after the release of a mixed employment report. U.S. employers added 156,000 jobs in December, just below the 180,000 or so anticipated by economists.
The figures capped a year of slower but solid hiring and were the last major snapshot of the economy before President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. Another modestly disappointing piece of news was the increase in the unemployment rate to 4.7% from the previous month’s nine-year low of 4.6%.
Employers add 156,000 jobs in Dec., wage gains hit 7-year high
However, hourly pay jumped 2.9% from a year earlier, the biggest increase in over seven years. That’s a positive sign that the low unemployment rate is leading some businesses to offer higher wages to attract and keep workers. Sluggish wage growth has been a longstanding weak spot in the seven-year economic recovery.
“Should earnings continue on the current trajectory then inflationary pressures should continue to build and enable the Fed to raise interest rates three times this year as planned, even in the absence of a large fiscal stimulus package from a Trump government,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX was up 0.1% while the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares gained 0.2% The CAC-40 in France rose 0.2%.
Further evidence emerged to show that the 19-country eurozone economy ended 2016 strongly and that it’s poised for a period of faster growth, at least until a run of elections that have the potential to cloud confidence. In a wide-ranging survey across the single currency bloc, the European Union found business and consumer sentiment running at near six-year highs. Its economic sentiment indicator rose 1.2 points to 107.8, its highest level since March 2011.
Contributing: Associated Press