Dow, S&P 500 eke out record closes

The Dow and the S&P 500 eked out record closes Friday after news that the unemployment rate has slipped to 5.8% while the number of new jobs missed expectations.

Wall Street, already riding high after the sweeping election Republican victory, was looking for another boost in the wake of the Labor Department's October employment data, released an hour before the 9:30 a.m. ET opening bell.

Earnings this quarter have also been stronger than expected, which has helped the stock market recover from a mid-October swoon.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 19.46 points, or 0.1%, to 17,573.93, while the S&P 500 gained 0.71 points, or less than 0.1%, to 2031.92. The Nasdaq composite fell 5.94 points, or 0.1%, to 4632.53.

It was the Dow's 22nd record of the year and the S&P's 38th.

The jobs report hinted at less slack in the labor market despite the miss on the headline job creation number.

Stock prices are most likely moving around in early trading – and could continue to do so -- due to Wall Street handicapping what it means for Fed timing of first rate hike next year.

The drop in the unemployment rate to 5.8% suggests maybe an earlier hike, perhaps in the first quarter, as the jobless rate is getting closer to the 5.2% to 5.5% range the Fed views as full employment, according to Capital Economics. But that bearish Fed takeaway for stocks is offset by the weaker-than-expected print on job gains and the lack of hourly wage growth, which rose just 0.1%, below the 0.2% forecast.

Indeed, there is still a large contingent of Wall Street pros that think today's employment report does not push forward the Fed's timetable.

Barclays, for example, said it still expects the first rate hike in June 2015, and UBS similarly reiterated its call for rates to start moving higher in the second quarter of next year. On the flipside, Capital Economics says the first rate hike might be coming "sooner than expected."

But it's a tough call, which is made clear by the takeaway from Jack Rivkin, chief investment officer at Altegris Advisor.

"On balance, if you were going to read into the numbers in terms of Fed reaction, it was neutral to possibly moving forward the rate hike timetable," Rivkin told USA TODAY.

What today's jobs number does is give the Fed a lot of wiggle room, says Dan Heckman, senior fixed income strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

"Today's report is one the Fed likes," says Heckman, "It gives them flexibility on the timing of the first rate increase. It was a not—too-hot, not-too-cold report."

The Dow and S&P 500 notched all-time closing highs Thursday after Europe stocks took initial, giant leaps on news that the region's central bank is boosting economic stimulus.

Asian markets ended mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.5%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.4% and the Shanghai composite lost 0.3%.

European benchmarks are mixed, with Britain's FTSE 100 up 0.3%, Germany's DAX down 0.9% and France's CAC off 0.9%.