Dow Misses 20,000 By A Hair; Tech Shares Strong

(@FahadShabbir)

Dow misses 20,000 by a hair; tech shares strong

NEW YORK, Jan 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Jan, 2017 ) - The Dow came within a whisker of 20,000 points Friday but fell just a bit short on a strong day for technology shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average flirted with the historic milestone several times during the day, getting to within 0.37 of a point at one stage before retreating.

The blue-chip index ultimately finished at 19,963.80, up 0.3 percent. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent to 2,276.98, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.6 percent to 5,521.06 -- both hitting new records.

The closely-watched employment report showed the US economy added 156,000 jobs in December, slightly below expectations. However, the Labor Department report also upgraded the job estimate for November and said average hourly earnings rose to $26.

00, up 10 cents from the prior month.

US stocks were mixed in early trading, but gained conviction throughout the session. Sentiment remains broadly optimistic over the US outlook given improving economic data and the potential for President-elect Donald Trump to enact a pro-growth agenda after he takes office in two weeks.

Technology shares were generally higher, with Apple winning 1.1 percent, Facebook 2.3 percent and Google parent Alphabet 1.5 percent. Amgen gained 2.8 percent after a US judge on Thursday blocked sale of the rival cholesterol drug Praluent by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi due to a patent dispute over Amgen's Repatha drug.

US shares of Sanofi lost 2.4 percent. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries plunged 7.5 after it projected 2017 earnings and sales that lagged analyst expectations.