On Friday, January 5th, the U.S. stock markets experienced a modest uptick at the close, yet this slight gain was insufficient to offset the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite's weakest weekly opening in several months for the start of 2024.
In economic data, December saw the U.S. economy add 216,000 jobs, outpacing November's 173,000 and forecasts of 170,000. The unemployment rate stayed at 3.7%, against expectations of 3.8%, while average hourly earnings increased by 0.4% to $34.27.
This week marks the start of the earnings season, with leading banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup set to report.
Most S&P 500 sectors ended positively, led ...