NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes held steady in choppy trading on Friday as investors assessed a strong jobs report that underscored market optimism over a soft landing for the economy, although Alphabet shares were a drag.
The Labor Department’s report showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 199,000 jobs in November, compared with an estimated increase of 180,000.
The unemployment rate slipped to 3.7%, while average earnings edged up to 0.4% on a monthly basis, compared with forecasts of 0.3% growth.
Investors pared back bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in March after the report, but they are still pricing in the likelihood that the central bank is done raising rates.
“The ongoing strength in the labor market is a reality check to investors who had priced as much as 125 basis points of rate cuts in 2024,” said Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at Lazard.
Temple, however, added that the data “suggests the Fed is delivering a goldilocks scenario of lower inflation without recession which is the best outcome for risk assets.” Alphabet shares were a drag, dropping 1.5% after an AI-led rally in the previous session.
Rate-sensitive real estate sector shed 1%, leading declines among the 11 S&P 500 sectors.
Helping sentiment was data showing US consumer sentiment perked up much more than expected in December, snapping four straight months of declines.
At 11:56 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 14.83 points, or 0.04%, at 36,132.21, the S&P 500 was up 0.18 points, or 0.00%, at 4,585.77, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 4.32 points, or 0.03%, at 14,344.32.
Market optimism around peak interest rates and robust quarterly updates led to a rally in equities in November, with the S&P 500 inching closer to its highest intraday level of the year at 4,607.07 points hit in July.
Among major stocks, Honeywell dipped 1.5% after the industrial firm said it would buy air conditioner maker Carrier Global’s security business for $4.95 billion. Carrier’s shares rose 4.2%.
Paramount Global soared 13.6% after reports of takeover interest in the media company. Peer Warner Bros Discovery also added 6.7%.
DocuSign added 4.1% after the e-signature product provider raised its annual forecast for revenue.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.10-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.05-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 27 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 75 new highs and 56 new lows.
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