Nasdaq Surges Over 100 Points; US Economy Adds 227,000 Jobs

U.S. stocks traded mixed this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining more than 100 points on Friday.

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 0.10% to 44,810.58 while the NASDAQ rose 0.64% to 19,826.09. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.32% to 6,094.78.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares jumped by 1.2% on Friday.

In trading on Friday, energy shares fell by 1.6%.

Top Headline

The November jobs report revealed a stronger-than-expected rebound in hiring, recovering from October's weather-related disruptions. Wage growth also slightly outpaced forecasts.

Equities Trading UP
                       

• Universe Pharmaceuticals INC UPC shares shot up 285% to $4.05 after dipping 41% on Thursday.
• Shares of Avalon GloboCare Corp. ALBT got a boost, surging 93% to $5.16.
• Gaxos.ai Inc. GXAI shares were also up, gaining 80% to $2.5507. Gaxos Labs unveiled Visual Editor for Godot Gaming Engine.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Oriental Rise Holdings Limited ORIS shares dropped 86% to $7.59 after surging 599% on Thursday.
• Shares of Mynaric AG MYNA were down 57% to $0.6200. Mynaric entered into negotiation for further funding with existing lender subject to financial reorganization under StaRUG, and postponed upcoming AGM.
• zSpace, Inc. ZSPC was down, falling 35% to $14.30 after jumping 340% on Thursday.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.5% to $67.27 while gold traded up 0.4% at $2,658.60.

Silver traded up 0.1% to $31.580 on Friday, while copper rose 0.3% to $4.2040.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.1%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.1% and France's CAC 40 rose 1.2%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index fell 0.2%, while London's FTSE 100 fell 0.3%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 0.77%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gaining 1.56%, China's Shanghai Composite Index gaining 1.05% and India's BSE Sensex falling 0.07%.

Economics

• Nonfarm payrolls rose by 227,000, sharply accelerating from the previous upwardly revised 36,000 and above the expected 200,000 as per TradingEconomics estimates.
• The unemployment rate rose from 4.1% to 4.2%, as expected.
• Average hourly earnings advanced at a 0.4% monthly pace, holding steady from October's 0.4% increase and surpassing expectations of 0.3%.
• The University of Michigan consumer sentiment rose for a fifth straight month to 74 in December, recording the highest level since April, and up from 71.8 in November.

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