S&P 500, Nasdaq set record closing highs
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed out the week at record highs as worries about an economic slowdown headed in reverse.
The Dow enjoyed its biggest one-day surge in three weeks with gains seen across the board.
U.S. hiring slowed less than expected in October despite the impact from a strike at General Motors. Employers added 128,000 jobs last month and hiring in August and September were upwardly revised. The politically-sensitive unemployment rate ticked up to 3.6 percent.
Investors also cheered some positive news from the global economy. Factory activity in China expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years.
The good news overshadowed more weakness from the U.S. manufacturing sector where activity shrank for the third month in a row.
Vincent DeLuard, global market strategist at INTL FCStone, is less than impressed.
SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) VINCENT DELUARD, GLOBAL MACRO STRATEGIST, INTL FCSTONE
"The markets still make new highs, but the engine is broken, and that's exactly what we see. For example, right now, all four FANG stocks - Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google - have underperformed the market since January of 2018. This is the first time we've seen this kind of widespread underperformance. And another thing that worries me is that, you know if the the narrative about the U.S. expansion were true, the consumer is so resilient, as indicated by the job numbers today, you would see strength in retailers, and you're certainly not seeing that."
Oil prices jumped three percent after U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the so-called phase one trade deal between the U.S. and China appears to be in good shape and should be signed around mid-November.
Sticking with oil, ExxonMobil's third-quarter profit was nearly cut in half due to lower oil prices, but the company still managed to beat forecasts.
Chevron saw profits fall by more than a third, but it wasn't as lucky. Sales and earnings both missed analysts expectations.
