NEW YORK, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday, as investors reacted positively to the November jobs report, which exceeded expectations without signaling labor market overheating.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 123.19 points, or 0.28 percent, to 44,642.52. The S&P 500 added 15.16 points, or 0.25 percent, to 6,090.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 159.05 points, or 0.81 percent, to 19,859.77.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with energy and utilities leading the laggards by losing 1.57 percent and 1.19 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, consumer discretionary and communication services led the gainers by going up 2.39 percent and 1.38 percent, respectively.
The U.S. Labor Department announced a 227,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls on Friday, surpassing the 214,000 predicted by Dow Jones. The figure marked a sharp improvement from October's upwardly revised 36,000 jobs, reflecting resilience in the labor market. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.2 percent, aligning with expectations, as more individuals re-entered the workforce.
A strong labor market coupled with manageable unemployment prompted traders to boost their expectations for a rate cut at the Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting, with odds climbing to 88 percent, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
"You're seeing a labor market that is not weak but is definitely softening, and that is more than anything else what is giving traders more confidence in the 25 basis-point rate cut here at the upcoming meeting," said Luke O'Neill, portfolio manager at Catalyst Funds. "It's not gangbusters, but we're doing reasonably solid from an economic perspective and yet there is enough of a softening on the labor side to give plenty of air cover for the Fed to lower rates here."
Also on Friday, HSBC said that it anticipates the S&P 500 index to climb to 6,700 by the close of 2025, citing strong corporate earnings growth and the resilience of the U.S. economy as key drivers. "We expect next year's equity returns to be focused on earnings growth as valuations are more stretched," HSBC analysts led by Nicole Inui wrote in a note. "Overall, we expect earnings to grow by 9 percent incorporating a slower but still resilient U.S. economy and some margin expansion."
On the corporate front, shares of Lululemon jumped nearly 16 percent in early trading on Friday after the company announced impressive third-quarter earnings and raised its full-year forecast.
