The Dow Jones Industrial Average held a modest gain near midday, unfazed by a drop in shares of Dow component Honeywell, which agreed to buy a unit of heating and air conditioning company Carrier Global.
Honeywell said Friday it plans to buy Carrier's security division for nearly $5 billion. HON stock moved off lows but was still down 0.7%. CARR stock jumped 4.5%.
But Wall Street's attention was squarely focused on the November jobs report that showed nonfarm payrolls up 199,000, which was ahead of economist estimates for a 180,000 gain, according to Econoday. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 3.7%. Wages increased 0.4% from October, slightly ahead of forecasts for 0.3%. On a year-over-year basis, wages were up 4%, in line with expectations.
An overbought bond market finally succumbed to some selling. That helped lift the 10-year Treasury yield by 12 basis points to around 4.25%. As it stands now, traders in federal funds futures think the first rate cut by the Federal Reserve will come at the May meeting.
The Nasdaq composite, S&P 500 and iShares Russell 2000 ETF all showed modest gains.
After five straight weekly gains, the Nasdaq composite is up 0.4% so far this week. The S&P 500 also is working on a five-week win streak. It's down 0.2% for the week.
Meanwhile, sellers knocked Lululemon Athletica lower. The company reported another strong quarter that showed earnings up 27% and revenue up 19% to just over $2.2 billion. But Lululemon also offered a lukewarm holiday outlook.
Dow Jones Today
Microsoft rose slightly, undeterred by news that the U.K.'s antitrust regulator will review Microsoft's relationship with artificial intelligence startup OpenAI.
See Which Stocks Are In The Leaderboard Model Portfolio
Apple also edged higher after the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple and its suppliers aim to produce more than 50 million iPhones in India annually within the next two to three years.
Chevron outperformed early in the Dow Jones today, up 1%. At the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude oil futures were up nearly 2% to around $70.60 a barrel.
Other 1% gainers in the Dow Jones included Caterpillar, Walt Disney and Goldman Sachs.
Stocks On The Move
Inside the MarketSmith Growth 250, Tesla was mostly flat on news the company sold 65,504 vehicles in China in November, up 4.8% vs. a year earlier and 128.8% vs. October. But data from the China Passenger Car Association also showed that Tesla Shanghai exports tumbled to 16,928, down 55.2% vs. a year earlier and off 61.1% compared with October.
After a pullback to the 50-day line, Broadcom backed off highs but remained slightly positive as Wall Street weighed the company's earnings report that showed a 6% rise in adjusted profit and 4% increase in revenue.
In the enterprise software group, Smartsheet reversed lower after a strong start. Adjusted profit of 16 cents a share was well above analyst estimates for 9 cents. Revenue increased 23% to $245.9 million.
In the semiconductor space, ARM Holdings rallied 4%. It cleared a cup-with-handle base with a 64.92 buy point.
Follow Ken Shreve on X/Twitter @IBD_KShreve for more stock market analysis and insight.
