So close! The Dow Jones industrial average missed the 20,000 mark by a fraction of a point Friday as U.S. stock indexes rose after the government said wages jumped in December. Two other major indexes set records.
Stocks wavered between gains and losses in the morning after the December jobs report, which showed less hiring than analysts hoped to see. Bond yields rose sharply, as the continued job gains should encourage the Federal Reserve to keep raising interest rates.
Indexes turned higher as investors concluded that the rising wages will lead to more spending on technology and consumer goods. Industrial companies rose as investors hoped for greater economic growth.
Sam Stovall, a U.S. equity strategist for S&P Capital IQ, said there was good news for most industries. That's because workers are being paid more, but the report won't push the Fed to raise rates quickly in order to stave off inflation.
"Consumers are earning a bit more and as a result can spend more," he said. "But ... people are not too worried the Fed will have to slam on the brakes."
At about 12:40 p.m. the Dow peaked at 19,999.63, but later lost steam. It finished up 64.51 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 19,963.80. The S&P 500 rose 7.98 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 2,276.98. The Nasdaq composite jumped 33.12 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 5,521.06.
The small-cap Russell 2000 index slid 4.65 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 1,367.28.
Stocks finished the week with a big gain as investors remained optimistic about the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 climbed 1.7 per cent. That was a marked change from last year, when the index lost 6 per cent as the market got off to its worst opening week in history.
The Labor Department said U.S. employers added 156,000 jobs in December, which was solid but slightly disappointing. However the government said hourly pay jumped 2.9 per cent from December 2015, the biggest monthly increase in seven years. Overall, job growth remained steady in 2016 but slowed a bit from 2015.
The biggest gains went to companies that stand to benefit from higher wages and greater spending by consumers. Among technology companies, Facebook rose $2.74, or 2.3 per cent, to $123.41 and Apple gained $1.30, or 1.1 per cent, to $117.91. Amazon had its second big gain in a row and added $15.54, or 2 per cent, to $795.99 while travel website TripAdvisor picked up $1.57, or 3.2 per cent, to $50.77.
Industrial companies, which have climbed since the presidential election two months ago, also fared well. Machinery and equipment maker Honeywell rose $1.77, or 1.5 per cent, to $118.53.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.42 per cent from 2.35 per cent. Higher bond yields mean higher interest rates, which allow banks to make more money on lending. Investment banks and other financial firms did better than the rest of the market Friday afternoon. SunTrust Banks rose 63 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $55.53 and Goldman Sachs jumped $3.58, or 1.5 per cent, to $244.90.
Companies that pay large dividends, including phone companies and real estate investment trusts, lagged the market as bond yields rose. Those stocks are often compared to bonds because of the steady income they provide. AT&T gave up 84 cents, or 2 per cent, to $41.32 and Crown Castle International fell $1.74, or 2 per cent, to $85.50.
Amgen climbed and Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals fell after a court moved to block sales of Sanofi and Regeneron's cholesterol drug Praluent. A federal jury ruled in March that Praluent infringes on two patents that belong to Amgen. Both are costly biotech drugs designed to be injected once or twice a month. Sanofi and Regeneron said they will appeal the ruling, which came from U.S. District Court in Delaware.
Amgen stock gained $3.80, or 2.5 per cent, to $156.78 while Regeneron slid $22.24, or 5.8 per cent, to $358.68 and Sanofi lost $1.18, or 2.8 per cent, to $40.32.
The dollar rose to 117.02 yen from 115.62 yen after a dip Thursday. The euro slipped to $1.0532 from $1.0590.
U.S. crude oil rose 23 cents to close at $53.99 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price oil sold internationally, added 21 cents to close at $57.10 a barrel in London.
In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline slipped less than 1 cent to $1.63 a gallon. Heating oil rose 1 cent to $1.70 a gallon. Natural gas rose 1 cent to $3.29 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Gold fell $7.90 to $1,173.40 an ounce. Silver sank 12 cents to $16.52 an ounce. Copper rose 1 cent to $2.55 a pound.
The FTSE 100 index in Britain inched up 0.2 per cent. It's risen nine days in a row and is at all-time highs. Germany's DAX edged up 0.1 per cent and the CAC-40 of France rose 0.2 per cent. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.3 per cent while the Kospi in South Korea added 0.4 per cent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng advanced 0.2 per cent.
___
AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/marley-jay
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.