NEW YORK, July 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks finished mixed on Friday after a stronger-than-expected jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 46.40 points, or 0.15 percent, to 31,338.15. The S&P 500 was down 3.24 points, or 0.08 percent, to 3,899.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 13.96 points, or 0.12 percent, to 11,635.31.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with materials and real estate down 1 percent and 0.55 percent, respectively, leading the laggards. The health care and the technology groups, however, eked out modest gains.
For the week, the Dow rose 0.8 percent, while the S&P 500 and tech-Heavy Nasdaq advanced 1.9 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. employers added 372,000 jobs in June, beating consensus expectations, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6 percent.
The solid jobs report is likely to keep the Federal Reserve on track for aggressive rate hikes against inflation, experts noted.
"Inflation is the paramount concern for committee members and a tightening labor market adds fuel to the fire," LPL Financial Chief Economist Jeffrey Roach said in a note on Friday.
The Fed is raising interest rates aggressively in an effort to stifle rampant inflation, stoking market concerns about a possible recession.
Driven by mounting recession fears, U.S. equities experienced a brutal first half of this year with the S&P 500 booking its largest first-half decline since 1970. ■