Markets were fairly flat to close out the week and more with the Closing Bell on Money and Markets.
It wasn’t the jobs report the market expected as U.S. companies created 145,000 new positions in December, falling short of analysts’ targets.
Wage growth also missed — growing just 2.9% compared to projections of 3.1% growth for the month.
Despite that, there’s still 477,000 open jobs as of October. The report found manufacturing lost 12,000 jobs in December — and had an increase of just 46,000 for the year.
Money and Markets: Closing Bell*
S&P 500: 3,265 (-9 points, -0.2%)
DOW: 28,823 (-133 points, -0.4%)
NASDAQ: 9,178 (-24 points, -0.2%)
GOLD: $1,560.80 (+8.80, +0.5%)
BITCOIN: $8,081.31 (+283.85, +3.6%)
U.S. 10-YEAR YIELD: 1.81%
*as of 4:25 p.m.
A Big Win
In this morning’s Wall Street Wake-Up, you learned about Synnex Corp. (NYSE: SNX) and its plan to split into two public companies. Shares of the IT company were up more than 13% in Friday afternoon trading.
Shares of Grubhub Inc. (NYSE: GRUB) were down 4% Friday afternoon after the company denied reports it was looking for potential buyers.
M&A News
American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) is acquiring Dermira Inc. (Nasdaq: DERM) for $1.1 billion in an all-cash transaction. Dermira specializes in medications for chronic skin conditions. Shares of Eli Lilly were up 1.6% in Friday afternoon trading.
Harsco Corp. (NYSE: HSC) is selling its IKG business to KPS Capital Partners for $85 million. Shares of Harsco were down 3.5% Friday afternoon.
Golden Nuggets
Despite the markets being up and down most of Friday, precious metals were mostly up.
Gold was up $4.79, or 0.3% to $1,559.10 an ounce in Friday afternoon trading while silver jumped 0.8% to $18.09 an ounce. Copper was also up 0.4% to 2.81 while platinum experienced a 1.3% jump to $978.
Cannabis Corner
Things have been better for Aurora Cannabis Corp. (NYSE: ACB).
The company dropped more than 11% in afternoon trading after analysts with Piper Sandler downgraded the stock and set a price target of $1. There were also questions over when the Canadian company will become profitable.
There are also potential issues as to if ACB will meet upcoming debt covenants.
Stock Market Update
U.S. markets held steady despite the weaker-than-expected jobs report.
The S&P 500 closed down 9 points, or 0.2%, to 3,265. It set a record Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 133 points, or 0.4%, to 28,823. The Nasdaq fell 24 points to 9,178.
In other market news, oil fell 0.9% to cap its worst week since July. West Texas crude was priced at $58.99 a barrel.
Today’s Big Winners:
(as of 3:15 p.m. EST)
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRN) +3.7%
Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) +3.2%
L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) +3%
Baidu Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU) +2.2%
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) +1.7%
Today’s Big Losers:
(as of 3:15 p.m. EST)
Harley Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) -3.4%
Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN) -2.9%
American Airlines Group Inc. (Nasdaq: AAL) -2.1%
Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) -1.5%
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) -1.5%
Check back for the most important news and numbers each day after the Closing Bell, only on Money and Markets.
Don’t forget about “Marijuana Markets: a POTcast,” featuring the biggest cannabis news and investment notes from Banyan Hill’s Anthony Planas, here on Money and Markets each Saturday morning.