Highlights
- US jobs grow faster than expected, wages increase
- Markets were unnerved by the jump in wages because that tends to feed inflation.
- But investors also realise that there's a positive side to this: The Fed has the luxury if you will to continue to raise rates, with smaller rate hikes. And the labor market remains resilient.
- S&P regains some ground after selling off on jobs data
New York: Wall Street stocks were mixed at the end of Friday's session as markets assessed the implications of a solid jobs report for US monetary policy.
The world's biggest economy added 263,000 jobs in November, more than anticipated, while the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent, Labor Department data showed.
Government figures also indicated a bigger jump in hourly wages than analysts had benchmarked.
Stocks initially tumbled on the release as markets feared it would extend the period of ultra-aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes to counter inflation.
But markets recovered throughout the day, lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average narrowly into positive territory to close at 34,429.88, up 0.1 percent.
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 4,071.70, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.2 percent at 11,461.50.
Markets were unnerved by the jump in wages "because that tends to feed inflation," said Quincy Krosby of LPL Financial.
But investors also realise that "there's a positive side to this," she said. "The Fed has the luxury if you will to continue to raise rates, with smaller rate hikes. And the labor market remains resilient."
Among individual companies, Boeing jumped 4.0 percent following a Wall Street Journal report that United Airlines is close to agreeing to order dozens of Boeing 787 Dreamliners. United shares were flat.
