As expected, the investors cheered Friday’s improving jobs data. The increase in jobs for July, along with the upward revision for June was exactly what the Street wanted to hear.
Or course, more evidence of a robust economy and potential higher rates was a boon to financials that far out performed on the upside. For example, JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) and Bank Of America were higher by 2.84 and 2.97 respectively, while the S&P 500 index was higher by only 0.17 percent.
Meanwhile, the big cap technology sector underperformed as higher rates, which may indicate future inflation, will have a negative impact on their projected earrings. Small caps, tracked by the Russell 2000 ETF (ARCX: IWM) outperformed the index with signs of all-around increased economic growth.
Investors were ahead of the good news as the index was showing a small gain ahead of the report. In a very unusual and tight range (only 17.25 vs. the nine day average true range of 38.75), the index posted a new all-time high (4433.25) and closing high adding 8.25 handles to close at 4429.50.
PreMarket Prep Stock Of The Day: Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA)
One day after a Q2 beat, two Wall Street firms downgraded the company and one raised its target price to the current all-time high. The issue ended lower on the session, but not by much considering the massive gains it has had over the last 17 months.
