By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The S&P 500 notched the latest in
a string of record closes Friday as U.S. equities ended mostly
higher but off of early gains inspired by a bigger-than-expected
rise in February nonfarm payrolls to extend a weekly winning
streak.
Strategists said investors looked past today's
better-than-expected jobs data, as much of today's number was
already priced into the markets, while concerns lingered over the
situation in Ukraine. The U.S. economy generated 175,000 jobs in
February despite harsh winter weather, but the unemployment rate
ticked up for the first time in 14 months, the government reported
Friday.
"The headline number on the jobs report was good, though the
details were still mixed. More importantly, the underlying trend in
the labor market is fairly good -- not booming, but certainly not
falling off the table," said John Canally, investment strategist at
LPL Financial.
The S&P 500 index (SPX) rose 1.01 points, or 0.1%, to close
at 1,878.04, adding to the previous record set on Thursday. Stocks
saw choppy trading action over the course of the session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 30.83 points, or
0.2%, to 16,452.72. Both the benchmark and blue-chip indexes posted
their second week of gains. The S&P 500 advanced 1% for the
week, while the Dow gained 0.8%.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) bucked the trend, dropping 15.90
points, or 0.4%, to 4,336.22. The index record a fifth-straight
weekly gain, rising 0.7% since last Friday.
See a recap of our stock market coverage on live blog.
"The next hurdle for the markets will be the FOMC meeting and
Janet Yellen's press conference -- markets will be watching
carefully for any hints in changes of policy," Canally said.
"Markets will also focus on weekly jobless claims and JOLTS reports
for more clues on the health of the labor market. Specifically, how
quickly the slack in hiring is being picked up."
The steady pace of hiring last month -- the biggest increase in
three months -- suggests the economy has not slowed as much as a
recent spate of indicators appear to show. The unemployment rate,
for example, edged up because more people entered the labor force
in search of jobs. That's usually a sign that workers think more
jobs are available.
Separately, the U.S. trade deficit rose slightly to $39.1
billion in January from a revised $39 billion in the prior month,
the Commerce Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by
MarketWatch had forecast a deficit of $39.7 billion.
The Nasdaq stumbled on a weak day overall for tech stocks, with
EBay (EBAY) losing ground as board member Marc Andreesen fired back
at Carl Icahn in an increasingly personal spat over Icahn's call
for the online auction site to spin off its PayPal payment
service.
Among individual stocks, Skullcandy (SKUL) shares shot up more
than 24% after earnings released late Thursday topped
expectations.
Another big gainer was Big Lots (BIG), which jumped 23% after
the company's top line beat Wall Street expectations.
And Foot Locker Inc. (FL) rose 8.8% after earnings results beat
estimates.
Shares in Prudential Financial Inc (PRU) rose 2.1% after
analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised the stock to buy
from neutral.
Shares of Safeway Inc. (SWY) fell 2.2% after details of a merger
with supermarket Albertsons -- owned by private-equity firm
Cerberus Capital Management -- emerged, disappointing some
investors.
In other markets, Asian stocks showed strength, with the Nikkei
225 index gaining 0.9%. But Hang Seng index closed lower.
European stocks closed lower. Oil prices extended gains, while
gold prices fell further.
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