S&P hits record as US loses 23,000 jobs and rate fears ease
What's new: Markets cut the odds of a September Fed hike to about 44%, while gold jumped 6% for its best week since January.
US stocks closed higher Friday, pushing the S&P 500 to a record after July payrolls unexpectedly fell by 23,000 and investors scaled back bets on a September interest-rate increase. The Nasdaq also climbed, while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1% as labor-force participation slipped to 61.4%. Traders lowered the implied chance of a September Fed hike to about 44%, from 55% a day earlier, according to CME FedWatch. Softer jobs data, lower Treasury yields and cooling oil prices also lifted gold, which rose 1.1% on the day and posted a 6% weekly gain, its strongest week since January.