• The main stock indexes finished trading in positive territory

Market news

5 January 2018

The main stock indexes finished trading in positive territory

The main US stock indexes rose to record highs against the background of labor market data, which showed that in December, job growth in the country slowed more than expected, amid a decline in employment in retail trade, while the growth in monthly wages accelerated.

According to data, last month the number of jobs in the non-agricultural sector increased by 148,000 people. Employment in the retail sector fell by 20,300 in December, which is the biggest fall since March, despite a strong holiday shopping season. At the same time, average hourly earnings rose 9 cents, or 0.3%, in December after rising 0.1% in the previous month. This increased the annual increase in wages to 2.5% from 2.4% in November. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at a 17-year low of 4.1%.

At the same time, the trade deficit in the US rose to almost six-year high in November, helped by the growth of imports, as optimistic US households stepped up purchases of mobile phones, household items and other products. The trade balance deficit increased by 3.2% from last month to $ 50.5 billion, which is the highest since January 2012. Economists had expected a gap of $ 49.5 billion.

In addition, the index of business activity in the US services sector, calculated by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), fell in December to 55.9 points compared to 57.4 points in November. Analysts predicted that the figure will rise to 57.6 points.

Most components of the DOW index recorded a decline (21 out of 30). The leader of growth was the shares of The Boeing Company (BA, + 4.03%). Outsider were the shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM, -0.69%).

Almost all sectors of S & P completed the auction in positive territory. The technological sector grew most (+ 0.9%). The largest decrease was shown by the sector of conglomerates (-1.2%).

At closing:

Dow + 0.88% 25.295.87 +220.74

Nasdaq + 0.83% 7,136.56 +58.64

S & P + 0.70% 2.743.15 +19.16

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