Stocks edge higher after solid jobs report
U.S. stocks rose Friday after the Labor Department said hiring remained solid in July and strong quarterly earnings continued to boost the market.
U.S. employers added 157,000 jobs last month, fewer than analysts expected. But the Labor Department said more jobs were added in May and June than it previously reported. That made up for the shortfall in July.
There was little reaction to China’s threat to put tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods.
Bond prices edged higher, sending yields lower. Food companies and other big-dividend stocks rose.
The S&P 500 index rose 13.13 points, or 0.5%, to close at 2,840.35. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 136.42 points, or 0.5%, to 25,462.58. The Nasdaq composite rose 9.33 points, or 0.1%, to 7,812.01. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks lost 8.73 points, or 0.5%, to 1,673.37.
The benchmark S&P 500 rose for the fifth week in a row. Some of those gains have been small, but that’s the longest winning streak for the index this year.
Kraft Heinz climbed after the maker of Oscar Mayer meats and Jell-O pudding said improved sales in Europe and Asia helped offset weaker results in the U.S. and Canada. The New York Post also reported that Kraft has had talks with Campbell Soup about a possible deal.
The Post said Kraft hasn’t made an offer. Kraft Heinz gained 8.6% to $64.48 and Campbell rose 2.5% to $42.76.
Cereal maker Post Holdings climbed 8% to $93.58 after reporting quarterly revenue that was higher than analysts expected. The company also said the private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners is investing in its private brands division, 8th Avenue Food & Provisions.
Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive jumped 9% to $123.41% after it topped Wall Street’s expectations in the fiscal first quarter and raised its projections for the rest of the year. The company said players spent more money on “Grand Theft Auto Online” and “NBA 2K18” than it expected. Rival Activision Blizzard lost 3.7% to $71.32 after a weak revenue forecast.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.95% from 2.98%.
Benchmark U.S. crude lost 0.7% to $68.49 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dipped 0.3% to $73.21 per barrel in London.
Energy companies traded lower following some disappointing quarterly reports. Noble Energy sank 7.9% to $32.89 and EOG Resources fell 2.8% to $122.41. Energy stocks have lagged the rest of the market in recent weeks after making big gains earlier this year.
Gold picked up 0.3% to $1,223.20 an ounce. Silver added 0.5% to $15.46 an ounce. Copper gained 0.9% to $2.76 a pound.
The dollar weakened slightly. It fell to 111.23 yen from 111.69 yen. The euro fell to $1.1578 from $1.1587.
UPDATES:
2:45 p.m.: This article was updated with closing stock prices.
This article was originally published at 7:30 a.m.
