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Stocks closed mostly flat on Friday as traders looked for clarity around the presidential and congressional election results. Sentiment was kept in check by better-than-expected U.S. unemployment data.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 66.78 points to end the week at 28,323.40.
The S&P 500 lost 1.01 points to 3,509.44
The NASDAQ nicked forward 4.3 points, to 11,895.23.
Energy doffed 2.1%, and financials slipped 0.8%, the worst-performing sectors in the S&P 500. UnitedHealth led the Dow lower with a decline of nearly 2%.
Democratic nominee Joe Biden leads with 253 electoral votes, according to media projections, while President Donald Trump has 214. Votes are still being counted in several key states including Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Georgia. According to some media outlets, Biden has a slight lead in Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Despite the uncertainty around the presidential vote, Wall Street notched its best weekly performance since April. The S&P 500 powered ahead 7.3%, and the NASDAQ jumped 9%, for the week. The Dow rose 6.9% this week. The S&P 500 also posted its biggest election week gain since 1932.
The U.S. Labor Department said that country’s unemployment rate fell to 6.9% in October from 7.9%. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected the rate to dip to 7.7%. The U.S. economy also added 638,000 jobs last month, topping an estimate of 530,000.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were lower, lifting yields to 0.82% from Thursday’s 0.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices skidded $1.36 to $37.43 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $6.20 to $1,953.00
