Stocks declined early gains after the monthly employment report showed the U.S. lost jobs in December, while investors continued to anticipate the prospect of additional fiscal stimulus.
The S&P 500 stock index added 0.4%, while the technically heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8%. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 0.1%, or about 20 points, partly dragged down by a decline in the shares of industrial conglomerate 3M.
All three indices closed on record on Thursday as investors focused on the potential for more government spending after victories in run-off games in Georgia that the Democrats will give the U.S. Senate.
Meanwhile, the rising coronavirus pandemic is weighing on the economy. The Labor Department’s report on Friday showed that the US shrugged off 140,000 jobs in December, ending seven months of job growth.
“So far, investors are looking beyond the weakness of this report and other economic data because they are confident that more fiscal stimulus is coming,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors. “And that, as the vaccine is distributed, that it will only be temporary and that we can hopefully push beyond the weakness of this number in the not too distant future.”