The S&P 500 rose to new highs on Friday, notching a weekly gain, following the release of the latest jobs report.
The broad market index closed up 0.65% to 6,966.28, a fresh record close. It also notched a new all-time intraday high in the session. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.81% to 23,671.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 237.96 points, or 0.48%, to end at 49,504.07, scoring a new closing record as well.
The three major averages posted a winning week. The S&P 500 was up more than 1% week to date, while the Dow and Nasdaq jumped 2.3% and 1.9%, respectively.
The December jobs report showed nonfarm payrolls increasing by 50,000 last month, less than the 73,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated. That data, though slightly weaker than expected, showed a U.S. economy that's still trudging along, with investors anticipating that growth will ramp up.
The unemployment rate inched down to 4.4%, while economists had forecast 4.5%. Traders took that as a sign that improvement in the economy would happen soon.
Considering the latest payrolls data alongside the JOLTS and ADP reports released this week, Anthony Saglimbene of Ameriprise Financial believes the consensus around the U.S. employment backdrop is that it has "softened" but is also "remaining firm." This reflects a "low-hire, low-fire" environment, he added.
"What could have been a risk is that you could have seen employment fall off a little bit more than expected, and I think that would have maybe kind of concerned investors," the chief market strategist said. "We get through the week on the employment side with mostly as-expected numbers, which I think is a positive."
The December report was the first month of jobs figures unaffected by the record-setting U.S. government shutdown. That stoppage posed data collection challenges for the Bureau of Labor Statistics with regards to October and November: The agency said that a full October jobs report wouldn't be released, and the November report was delayed.
"This nonfarm payrolls report is the first report in a couple months that the data is clean," Saglimbene said. "Looking at these numbers, it suggests that the Fed probably doesn't need to cut in January, and maybe they don't need to cut in March as well."
Shares of homebuilders supported the broader market Friday after President Donald Trump directed "representatives" to buy mortgage bonds as a way to drive rates down for homebuyers. D.R. Horton jumped nearly 8%, while PulteGroup traded up more than 7%. Lennar advanced more than 8%. Home improvement stocks such as Home Depot also gained.
