S&P 500, Dow close at record highs

The Dow and the S&P 500 indexes closed at record highs on Friday following a stronger-than-expected jobs report, while investors shrugged off concerns over the Delta variant impacting a nascent economic recovery.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 943,000 jobs last month, a Labor Department report showed. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls would increase by 870,000 jobs.

The Labor Department’s closely watched employment report also showed strong wage gains, as employers competed for scarce workers, and a drop in the unemployment rate to a 16-month low.

“I think that investors are now saying we’ve got renewed confidence in the economic recovery,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. “And as a result, (investors) are rotating again into the cyclical, the value stocks, as well as the smaller-cap issues”.

Around half of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors rose, with financials leading the growth. The S&P 500 technology sector index (.SPLRCT) fell.