U.S. Stocks Close Slightly Higher Following Volatile Session

(RTTNews) - After trending lower during the past several sessions, stocks saw considerable volatility over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages swung back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing slightly higher.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 13.77 points or 0.1 percent to 14,524.07, snapping a five-session losing streak. The Dow also crept up 25.77 points or 0.1 percent to 37,466.11, while the S&P 500 rose 8.56 points or 0.2 percent to 4,697.24 after closing lower for four consecutive sessions.

Despite the uptick on the day, the major averages all moved lower for the first week of the new year. The Nasdaq plunged by 3.3 percent, the S&P 500 slumped by 1.5 percent and the Dow slid by 0.6 percent. With the drop, the major averages moved to the downside for the first time in ten weeks.

The volatility on the day came as traders reacted to the release of some key U.S. economic data, including a closely watched Labor Department report showing stronger than expected job growth in December.

While the data initially raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates, positive sentiment prevailed as traders digested the details of the report, which also showed notable downward revisions to job growth in October and November.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment surged by 216,000 jobs in December compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 170,000 jobs.

At the same time, the increases in employment in October and November were downwardly revised to 105,000 jobs and 173,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 71,000 jobs.

"There's no recession threat in this report, nor any reason for the Fed to worry about overheating," said FHN Financial Chief Economist Chris Low. "It is as safely down the middle as they come."

The Institute for Supply Management also released a report showing a bigger than expected slowdown in the pace of U.S. service sector growth.

The ISM said its services PMI fell to 50.6 in December from 52.7 in November. While a reading above 50 still indicates growth, economists had expected the index to show a much more modest decrease to 52.6.

The data also contributed to significant volatility in the bond markets, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing above 4.0 percent for the first time in over four weeks.

Sector News

While most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, airline stocks extended Thursday's rebound, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 1.9 percent.

Significant strength was also visible among banking stocks, with the KBW Bank Index climbing by 1.6 percent to its best closing level in almost ten months.

Oil service stocks also turned in a strong performance amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, resulting in a 1.2 percent gain by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Friday. China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 0.9 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid by 0.7 percent, although Japan's Nikkei 225 Index bucked the downtrend and rose by 0.3 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both fell by 0.4 percent.

In the bond, treasuries saw considerable volatility before eventually closing in negative territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 5.1 basis points to 4.042 percent.

Looking Ahead

Inflation data is likely to return to the spotlight next week, as the Labor Department is scheduled to release separate reports on consumer and producer price inflation.