Stocks closed slightly lower Friday and bond yields rose after a surprisingly strong government jobs report raised doubts about whether the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates later this month.
The Labor Department reported that employers added 224,000 jobs last month, far more than expected. Investors have anticipated that the Fed would cut rates when it meets later this month, but the strong jobs report appeared to make that less likely.
On Friday:
The S&P 500 fell 5.41 points, or 0.2%, to 2,990.41.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 43.88 points, or 0.2%, to 26,922.12.
The Nasdaq composite slid 8.44 points, or 0.1%, to 8,161.79.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks rose 3.50 points, or 0.2%, to 1,575.62.
For the week:
The S&P 500 rose 48.65 points, or 1.7%.
The Dow gained 322.16 points, or 1.2%.
The Nasdaq added 155.55 points, or 1.9%.
The Russell 2000 picked up 9.05 points, or 0.6%.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is up 483.56 points, or 19.3%.
The Dow is up 3,594.66 points, or 15.4%.
The Nasdaq is up 1,526.51 points, or 23%.
The Russell 2000 is up 227.07 points, or 16.8%.
