Major market benchmarks reached both intraday and closing highs as traders bet that November's disappointing jobs report would bring additional Congressional stimulus to the pandemic-impacted economy. All major indices also rose for the week, continuing November's growth momentum, with the Dow climbing 1%, S&P rising 1.7% and the Nasdaq soaring 2.2%.
The Labor Department's November jobs report showed that the economy added 245,000 payrolls during the month, which was far below the 460,000 expected. The report underscored the job market's uncertainty towards future growth as the coronavirus pandemic continues to harm business activity. However, the November's unemployment rate came in-line with expectations, falling to 6.7% from October's 6.9%.
Investors took Friday's jobs report as a sign that Congress will pass more fiscal stimulus to support the economy. That positive stimulus sentiment paired with continuous vaccine momentum led the bull market higher on Friday.
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.88% or +32.41 points to 3,699.13
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +0.83% or +248.25 points to 30,217.77
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.7% or +87.05 points to 12,464.23
For Stocks, Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA) was the largest decliner on the S&P, with the retailer falling from recent 52-week highs after its Q4 comparable sales guidance disappointed investors and the company warned of pandemic-related holiday demand impacts. Cannabis stocks ended the session mixed following the House's historic passage of a bill aimed at federally decriminalizing marijuana: Aurora Cannabis (NYSE: ACB), Canopy Growth (NASDAQ: CGC), Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY), and ETF Alternative Harvest ETF (NYSE: MJ).
For Sector Performance, almost every sector on the S&P ended Friday's session higher, with only Consumer Discretionary (NYSE: XLY) and Utilities (NYSE: XLU) falling into negative territory amid the broader market rally. Energy (NYSE: XLE) was Friday's big winner, gaining over 5%. Materials (NYSE: XLB) also led gains at over 2%, while Real Estate (NYSE: XLRE), Industrials (NYSE: XLI), Financials (NYSE: XLF), Health Care (NYSE: XLV) and Information Technology (NYSE: XLK) rose over 1%.
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (NYSE: UUP) left Friday's trading session only slightly lower on the day as traders remained optimistic towards additional fiscal stimulus and a speedy economic recovery following the deployment of a coronavirus vaccine. The dollar index slipped to a 2 year low of 90.64 and fell over 1% for the week as risk optimism continued to gain momentum. Gold (NYSE: GLD) prices declined on Friday as investors rotated profits into other equities. However, the bullion's appeal as an inflation hedge kept losses at a minimum. Spot gold fell 0.3% to $1,834.92 per ounce, but gained over 2% for the week. Gold futures settled 0.1% lower at $1,840 per ounce. Crude oil futures continued to rise on Friday on heightened expectations for additional U.S. stimulus and economic recovery in 2021. International benchmark Brent Crude (NYSE: BNO) rose 1.11% to $49.25 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (NYSE: USO) settled 0.99% higher at $46.68 each. Both benchmarks increase for the fifth straight week.
For the week ahead, market participants will focus on coronavirus and Congressional stimulus headlines.