The major indexes closed higher Friday, as the market applauded a monthly jobs report that beat expectations and continued a pace of solid gains for the labor market.
X The Nasdaq composite finished 0.4% higher but well off its session peak. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.5% also and closed near session highs, in sharp contrast with the Nasdaq. The small-cap Russell 2000 lagged with a 0.1% increase.
Volume fell across the board, according to preliminary figures. Winners led losers by 3-to-2 on the NYSE and by an even narrower margin on the Nasdaq.
Early Friday, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added 228,000 jobs in November, well above the consensus forecast of 190,000. The unemployment rate held at 4.1%, in line with views.
The report was good news for a consumer sector that has been on the upswing. On Friday, the leading industry groups included recreational vehicles, homebuilders, mortgage companies, casinos and home furnishings.
Best Buy (BBY) broke out of a cup base with a 63.42 buy point, but volume was limp. The electronics retailer is trading at all-time highs, much better than dozens of retailers that remain sharply off their highs despite weeks of improvement in the sector.
The holiday shopping season is critical for most retailers, and especially for a tech-toy chain like Best Buy. Last month, when the company announced quarterly results, earnings missed expectations and management forecast sales and profits for the current quarter at levels below Wall Street estimates.
Building stocks have been trending higher also, and there was a new breakout in the cement and aggregates group Friday. Summit Materials (SUM) topped the 32.34 buy point in flat base, but volume was flat. The Denver-based company is expected to report a 15% decline in earnings this year, but a 59% increase in 2018.
Summit's move follows breakouts in the past few days in Eagle Materials (EXP) and U.S. Concrete (USCR). But the industry group remains weak, ranked around 147 of 196 groups.
In financials, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) broke out of a flat base but volume also was soft. The Toronto-based asset manager follows industry peers BlackRock (BLK), Janus Henderson (JHG) and Affiliated Managers (AMG) in breaking out over the past month.
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