Day Traders Diary

12/6/19

The major averages surged on Friday on the back of U.S. jobs growth that easily topped analyst expectations as Wall Street wrapped up a choppy week of trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 337 points, or 1.2% at 28,015. Friday's performance was the Dow's best since Oct. 4, when it rallied 1.4%. The S&P 500 closed 0.9% higher at 3,145, its biggest one-day gain since Oct. 15. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1% to 8,656.

Shares of 3M led the Dow's strong gains, rising more than 4%. The energy sector was the best performer in the S&P 500, jumping 2%. Industrials and financials rose more than 1% each. Google-parent Alphabet closed 0.9% higher and hit an all-time high. Apple shares also reached record levels, gaining 1.9%. Goldman Sachs shares jumped 3.4%.

The S&P 500 came into the session down 0.7% for the week, but Friday's strong gains helped the index recover those losses. The Dow and Nasdaq each entered Friday trading down more than 1% week to date.

In corporate news, Goldman Sachs rose 3.4% outperformed after Bloomberg reported that the bank could settle its 1MDB scandal for less than $2 billion, which would also be less than expected. Ulta Beauty rose 10% after providing positive earnings results and upbeat earnings guidance.

The rate-sensitive utilities sector struggled during the day, largely due to the increase in Treasury yields that resulted from the jobs report waning demand for bonds. The 2-yr yield increased four basis points to 1.63%, and the 10-yr yield increased five basis points to 1.84%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.3% to 97.68.