Stocks closed the first week of trading in December on a win, thereby securing their sixth consecutive winning week. This comes after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a strong U.S. monthly jobs report for November.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3% on Friday, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced nearly 0.5%. The S&P 500 ended the session 0.4% higher, reaching its highest level this year.
In November, 199,000 new jobs were added to the US economy, with the number growing after auto worker and Hollywood actor strikes came to an end. This data largely boosted investor optimism that the Federal Reserve will introduce interest rate cuts next year. In commodities, oil prices recovered slightly but remain on course to their longest run of losses in five years. West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude futures both gained 2%.