U.S. equities rose on Friday as the technology sector led, while investors parsed through key employment data.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose about 90 points, with Goldman Sachs and Walt Disney contributing the most gains, lifting it to a new all-time high. The Dow also came within 0.37 points of hitting 20,000 for the first time. The S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent to reach a new intraday high, with information technology advancing 1 percent.

"The Dow has been approaching 20,000 for several weeks now. Strong jobs news, combined with optimism about the incoming administration's policies is lifting stocks," said Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones.

The Nasdaq composite outperformed, trading 0.8 percent higher, also hitting a new all-time high. Leading the tech-heavy index higher were the so-called FANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet), which all rose.

The U.S. economy added 156,000 jobs in December, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists polled by Reuters expected an increase of 178,000. The unemployment rate came in at 4.7 percent, in line with expectations.

"This report is very good," said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors. "The fantastic thing here is the jump in hourly wages." Average hourly wages rose 10 cents to $26, representing a 2.9 percent annualized gain.

Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities, said the report was "a net positive." "I think the problem is that investors are coming to the realization that the stronger dollar could be a headwind ... for about 60 percent of the S&P 500."

The U.S. dollar rose 0.4 percent against six other currencies, a day after falling sharply. The euro dropped 0.4 percent against the greenback to $1.055 and the yen slid around 1.3 percent to 116.9.

Other data released Friday included November factory orders, which fell 2.4 percent, more than expected.

Treasury prices, erased slight gains following the employment data release, with the 10-year note yield rising to 2.408 percent and the two-year note yield climbing to 1.214 percent.

"Treasuries sold off after the number because I think they are honing in on the better private sector upward revision to October and November which offset the December miss," said Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group, in a note.

Stocks and Treasury yields have skyrocketed since President-elect Donald Trump's victory amid the prospects of looser regulations in certain sectors, lower tax rates and fiscal stimulus. Since then, major economic data have taken a backseat to transition-related news and investors assessing whether Trump's proposed policies will take effect.

"One of the ways we've been describing 2017 is 'the new abnormal,'" said State Street's Arone, noting that investors are now paying more attention to fiscal policy rather than monetary policy.

The Dow and S&P have risen 8.6 percent and 6.1 percent since Nov. 8, respectively. That said, the indexes entered the new year having posted a three-day losing streak to end 2016. "The incoming president usually enjoys a 'market honeymoon.' I think President-elect Trump might have gotten his before even taking office," said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade.

Symbol

Name

Price

 

Change

%Change

DJIA Dow Industrials 19988.22

 

88.93 0.45%
S&P 500 S&P 500 Index 2280.51

 

11.51 0.51%
NASDAQ NASDAQ Composite 5531.29

 

43.36 0.79%

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 88 points, or 0.45 percent, to 19,988, with Walt Disney leading advancers and Verizon the top decliner.

The S&P 500 gained 11 points, or 0.45 percent, to trade at 2,280, with information technology leading nine sectors higher and materials and telecommunications lagging.

The Nasdaq composite advanced 44 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,532.

About four stocks advanced for every three decliners at the New York Stock Exchange, with an exchange volume of 313 million and a composite volume of 1.623 billion in afternoon trade.