US benchmark equity indexes experienced a mixed outcome on Friday following the release of official data indicating that the economy added more jobs than anticipated in November. Total nonfarm payrolls in the US rose by 227,000 last month, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Expectations had centered around a 220,000 increase based on a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
The unemployment rate saw a slight uptick, rising to 4.2% from October's 4.1%, which had also aligned with the market consensus for November. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack commented that policymakers are approaching a stage where 'it makes sense' to reduce the pace of monetary policy easing. She remarked, 'Moving slowly will allow us to calibrate policy to the appropriately restrictive level over time given the underlying strength in the economy.' The Federal Reserve is still projected to decrease interest rates by 25 basis points on December 18, yet the Federal Open Market Committee is anticipated to adopt a more cautious approach in 2025, potentially foregoing rate cuts in January, as noted by Oxford Economics.
In energy markets, January West Texas Intermediate crude oil ended down $1.12, settling at $67.18 per barrel, while January Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $1.02 at $71.07. Traders are closely monitoring the implications of OPEC+'s decision to delay and extend the return of voluntary production cuts, with expectations that supply will soon surpass demand.
Notably, Lululemon Athletica's shares surged nearly 16% following the company’s stronger-than-expected fiscal Q3 results, benefitting from positive momentum in international markets. Conversely, UnitedHealth's insurance unit was directed by a US judge to reevaluate its earlier denied coverage claim for a teenager's costly mental health and substance abuse treatments, which amounted to $175,000.
The judge stated that the most recent denial lacked a legal foundation, leading to a 5.2% drop in UnitedHealth's shares..