Dow and Nasdaq notch best weeks since July

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Friday as traders weighed the latest U.S. jobs report to conclude a winning week. The 30-stock Dow ticked up 115.80 points, or 0.33 per cent, to close at 34,837.71 The S&P 500 added roughly 0.18 per cent to finish the session at 4,515.77, and the Nasdaq Composite inched down 0.02 per cent to end the day at 14,031.81.

The major averages were up sharply earlier in the day. The Dow briefly traded more than 250 points higher, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbed about 0.8 per cent each before easing.

The Dow and the Nasdaq added 1.4 per cent and about 3.3 per cent for the week, respectively, notching their best performances since July. The S&P 500 gained 2.5 per cent to register its best week since June.

The latest U.S. nonfarm payrolls report showed the unemployment rate ticked higher to 3.8 per cent in August, reaching its highest level in more than a year. Economists had expected it to remain at 3.5 per cent.

In another sign of a slowing economy and easing pricing pressures, average hourly earnings increased 4.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis, less than the 4.4 per cent increase expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.

August payrolls grew at a faster-than-expected pace, with 187,000 being added. However, job numbers first reported for June and July were revised down by a combined 110,000.

Following the release, the CME Group’s FedWatch tool showed traders have priced in a 93 per cent chance of the central bank holding rates at current levels at its policy meeting later this month.

Investors also pored over fresh earnings reports. Database software maker MongoDB and Dell Technologies advanced 3 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively, on the back of stronger-than-expected earnings reports. Shares of athletic apparel retailer Lululemon Athletica added 6 per cent after crushing Wall Street’s estimates.

Turning to commodities, the spot price of iron ore in Singapore has risen by over 16 per cent since August 8, despite ongoing negative reports about China's real estate market.

US oil has reached a value above $85 per barrel, and the global benchmark crude also hit its highest point of 2023, reaching around $89 per barrel.

The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) or US oil, increased for the seventh consecutive day in New York, marking the longest such streak since January. The settlement price reached its highest level since November, with US futures showing a significant weekly gain of 7.2 per cent, the largest increase since March.

Turning to US sectors now, Energy was the best performer, whilst Consumer Staples was the worst.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent rise.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7:20 AM was buying 64.46 US cents.

Commodities

Gold added 0.06 per cent. Silver lost 1.01 per cent. Copper rose 0.78 per cent. Oil gained 2.30 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed mixed. London’s FTSE added 0.34 per cent, Frankfurt fell 0.67 per cent, and Paris closed 0.27 per cent lower.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.28 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was closed on Friday while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.43 per cent higher.

The Australian sharemarket closed 0.37 per cent lower at 7,278.

Ex-dividends

Aust Finance Group (ASX:AFG) is paying 4.1 cents fully franked
Altium Limited (ASX:ALU) is paying 29 cents unfranked
Atlas Pearls Ltd (ASX:ATP) is paying 0.35 cents fully franked
Bendigo and Adelaide (ASX:BEN) is paying 32 cents fully franked
Beach Energy Limited (ASX:BPT) is paying 2 cents fully franked
Fortescue Metals Grp (ASX:FMG) is paying 100 cents fully franked
GR Engineering Ltd (ASX:GNG) is paying 10 cents fully franked
IDP Education Ltd (ASX:IEL) is paying 20 cents 17 per cent franked
Lifestyle Communit. (ASX:LIC) is paying 6 cents fully franked
McPherson's Ltd (ASX:MCP) is paying 1 cent fully franked
NIB Holdings Limited (ASX:NHF) is paying 15 cents fully franked
Peter Warren (ASX:PWR) is paying 11 cents fully franked
Servcorp Limited (ASX:SRV) is paying 12 cents 20 per cent franked
TPC Consolidated Ltd (ASX:TPC) is paying 30 cents fully franked
Vitura Health Ltd (ASX:VIT) is paying 1 cent fully franked

Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.

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