The Bureau of Labor Statistics delivered a doozy of a nonfarm payrolls report Friday.
The good news: The unemployment rate dipped to 6.7% in November from 6.9%. The bad news? The U.S. added just 245,000 jobs last month – substantially lower than economists' expectations and a clear slowdown from October's revised 610,000 additions.
"It's not surprising to see a one-month pause in the rapid pace of payroll gains we have seen, with slower hiring due to temporary COVID-related reductions in activity, even if the actions fall short of the dramatic springtime lockdowns," says Rick Rieder, BlackRock's chief investment officer of global fixed income.
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Some on Wall Street were a little more pointed in translating the payroll numbers, however.
"This is a disappointing report, and one that shows the third wave of the pandemic is having a bigger effect on hiring than had been thought, says Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network. "This is a wake-up call for Congress and should support more federal stimulus."
Capitol Hill appears to be listening. Today it was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi weighing in, saying "there is momentum" toward a COVID-19 relief bill as the clock winds down on 2020.
Wall Street clearly put more (ahem) stock in Washington negotiations than slowing employment gains, as investors drove the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.8% to 30,218) to fresh-all time highs, led by Caterpillar (CAT, +4.3%), Chevron (CVX, +3.9%) and International Business Machines (IBM, +2.9%).
Other action in the stock market today:
- The S&P 500 advanced 0.9% to hit a new high of 3,699.
- The Nasdaq Composite broke through the ceiling, too, gaining 0.7% to 12,464.
- The small-cap Russell 2000 reached a new peak with a 2.4% jump to 1,892.
- Gold futures slipped a mere 0.1%, finishing at $1,840 per ounce.
- U.S. crude oil futures improved by 0.3% to settle at $45.87 per barrel.
What Are Wall Street's Biggest Investors Buying?
We've written at various points about a "great rotation" into value stocks, and how it's expected to continue when COVID vaccines advance past the trial stages.
You're also starting to see signs of that in so-called smart money stock transactions – though in several cases, hedge funds and other billionaires are sticking with highfliers from earlier in the year.
Recently, influential investors such as Warren Buffett released new info about their latest trades, and we delved into many of the stocks these institutional investors were unloading. Now, we're digging into some of their highest-conviction positions.
Read on as we show you some of the billionaires' top stock picks for the third quarter. In some cases, the smart money added on to already large existing positions. In others, they made a statement by pushing a pile of money into new stakes.
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DexCom, GE, SLB: Why Experts Rate These Stocks at Strong BuyWall Street gives these three diverse names Strong Buy recommendations with high potential upside.
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How Home Appraisals Work — and What the Final Value MeansFrom comps to contingencies, here’s what a home appraisal reveals about your property’s true worth.
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Dow Rips 846 Points to New All-Time High: Stock Market TodayFed Chair Jerome Powell seems ready to cut interest rates in the fall but will still rely on incoming economic data about inflation and employment.
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Nasdaq Ends the Week at a New High: Stock Market TodayThe S&P 500 came within a hair of a new high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average still has yet to hit a fresh peak in 2025.
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Stocks Swing Lower as Eli Lilly, Fortinet Spiral: Stock Market TodayThe main indexes finished well off their session highs after a disappointing batch of corporate earnings reports.
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What Tariffs Mean for Your Sector ExposureNew, higher and changing tariffs will ripple through the economy and into share prices for many quarters to come.
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Dow Dives 542 Points on Soft Jobs Data: Stock Market TodayThe last day of a busy week ends with the first greater-than-1% move in either direction in more than a month.
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Dow Bleeds Red Due to Big Blue: Stock Market TodaySix of the official GICS sectors were in the green, led by communications services, technology and energy stocks.
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If You'd Put $1,000 Into Berkshire Hathaway Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayBerkshire Hathaway is a long-time market beater, but the easy money in BRK.B has already been made.
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If You'd Put $1,000 Into Procter & Gamble Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayProcter & Gamble stock is a dependable dividend grower, but a disappointing long-term holding.
