The Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed at record highs on Friday. Lululemon’s positive forecast and U.S. jobs data boosted investor optimism. Dow Jones ended lower as UnitedHealth shares dropped 5.1%.

Key Sector and Market Movements

The S&P 500 consumer discretionary index rose 2.4% to reach an all-time high. Lululemon’s shares climbed 15.9% after raising its full-year forecast. Ulta Beauty shares gained 9% following an increased annual profit forecast.

U.S. Labor Department data showed job growth surged in November. However, the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, suggesting a cooling labor market. Bill Northey from U.S. Bank Wealth Management noted this supports continued Fed rate cuts.

Market Data and Trends

The Dow Jones fell 123.19 points, or 0.28%, to 44,642.52. The S&P 500 gained 15.16 points, or 0.25%, to 6,090.27, and the Nasdaq climbed 159.05 points, or 0.81%, to 19,859.77.

The S&P 500 marked its 57th record high this year. The Nasdaq recorded its 36th record high close. For the week, the Nasdaq rose 3.3%, the S&P 500 gained 1%, while the Dow fell 0.6%.

Investors are now pricing a 90% chance the Fed will cut interest rates by 25 basis points in December. Inflation risks remain, and Fed Governor Michelle Bowman emphasized caution in monetary policy decisions.

Shares of health insurance companies continued to decline, led by UnitedHealth. This came after CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot outside a Manhattan hotel two days ago.

Meta Platforms gained 2.4% as a U.S. appeals court upheld a law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok by early next year.

The Cboe Volatility Index dropped 0.77 points to 12.77, its lowest since mid-July. Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners on the Nasdaq, while on the NYSE, new highs totaled 354 compared to 98 new lows.

Total trading volume on U.S. exchanges was 12.99 billion shares, below the 14.5 billion average over the past 20 trading days.