Stock market today: Live updates

The U.S. economy added 199,000 in November. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a print of 190,000.

While the headline number was about in line with expectations, the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.7%. Economists had forecast the jobless rate to stay unchanged at 3.9%.

— Fred Imbert

Shares of Carrier Global were up more than 3% after the company agreed to sell its Global Access Solutions business — which makes locks for hotels, among other businesses — for $4.95 billion in cash to Honeywell.

Honeywell’s strong track record delivering building automation products and services makes this a natural fit that will create a leading security platform with forecasted annual revenue in excess of $1 billion,” Honeywell CEO Vimal Kapur said in a statement.

“By leveraging the capabilities of the combined company’s advanced security and safety systems, customers will be able to maximize their performance, efficiency and cost-effectiveness and create long-term, sustainable value,” Kapur added.

Honeywell shares dipped 0.6% in the premarket.

Recent data suggests that the U.S. labor market is softening, and expectations ahead of Friday’s crucial nonfarm payrolls figure are “skewed to the downside,” according to Julien Lafargue, chief market strategist at Barclays Private Bank.

“A significant positive surprise would challenge the market’s consensus that interest rate cuts will materialise around the beginning of Q2 2024,” Lafargue said.

“On the other hand, a significant disappointment could force the market to reassess its soft landing scenario. A number broadly in line with expectations would, in our view, probably be the most supportive outcome for stocks.”

– Elliot Smith

European markets were little changed at Friday’s open.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index hovered around the flatline in early trade, with mining stocks dropping 0.6% while oil and gas climbed 0.5%.

Japan’s third-quarter gross domestic numbers have been revised downward in a move at odds with economists’ expectations.

The world’s third-largest economy shrank by 0.7% quarter-on-quarter, a steeper-than-expected decline compared with expectations of a 0.5% contraction as per the first estimate as well a Reuters poll.

On an annualized basis, GDP shrank by 2.9% in the third quarter, faster than the first estimate of 2.1% and economists’ expectations of 2%.

— Lim Hui Jie

India’s central bank has held its key lending rate at 6.5%, the fourth straight time that it has left the repurchase rate unchanged.

Reuters reported that all six members of the RBI’s monetary policy committee unanimously voted to hold the repo rate.

This comes as inflation in the country has slowed for three straight months, coming in at a four-month low of 4.87% in October. Since May 2022, the RBI has raised the repo rate by a total of 250 basis points.

— Lim Hui Jie

Real wages in Japan have fallen for a 19th straight month, sliding 2.3% year-on-year in October.

While the drop was softer than the revised 2.9% fall seen in September, the decline in real wages will be something that may prevent the Bank of Japan from moving away from negative interest rates.

The BOJ has said that sustainable pay increases are a key metric to consider before dismantling its ultra-loose monetary policy.

— Lim Hui Jie

The percentage of individual investors who are pessimistic over the six-month outlook for stocks jumped to 27.4% in the latest survey from the American Association of Individual Investors, and up from 19.6% last week — which had marked the fewest bears since January 2018.

Historically, bears average out at about 31% each week, and have now stood below average for five straight weeks.

The ranks of bullish investors dipped to 47.3% in the latest week, the first time they’d fallen in five weeks, and down from 48.8% last week — which had marked the greatest number of optimists only since last August. The historical average of bulls is 37.5%, and optimists have also now come in above average for five consecutive weeks, as well as six weeks in nine.

The AAII characterized the latest sentiment readings as returning “to their respective typical ranges.”

— Scott Schnipper

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is on its way to a sixth straight positive week, on pace for a 0.24% gain.

It may not seem like much of an increase, but if the Nasdaq manages to keep it, that will mark the index’s longest winning streak since its eight-week run which ended in June.

Names in the index that have had a good week thus far include Alphabet, which is up 3.8%, and Advanced Micro Devices, up 5.8% week to date.

Both stocks rallied sharply Thursday, with Alphabet advancing more than 5% after the company announced its Gemini AI model. AMD popped nearly 10% a day after the semiconductor company announced its newest AI chip – and Meta and Microsoft said they would use it.

The week is looking less upbeat for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, both of which are about to break a five-week winning streak.

–Darla Mercado, Chris Hayes

The Labor Department is slated to report November’s nonfarm payrolls report on Friday morning – and the numbers just might show an increase in hiring.

Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting 190,000 positions were added last month, an increase from October’s 150,000.

But traders – and the Federal Reserve – will be looking beyond just the headline numbers. Key metrics, including wage growth and the unemployment rate, will be important indicators as to whether the economy has sufficiently cooled.

Read more about the upcoming jobs report here.

–Darla Mercado, Jeff Cox

A few names made notable moves after the market closed.

Lululemon Athletica dropped more than 2% after the athletic apparel retailer issued weak guidance for the holiday season. The company, known for its yoga pants, says it’s expecting sales to range between $3.14 billion and $3.17 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter. That’s short of the $3.18 billion anticipated by analysts, per Refinitiv.

RH, the home furnishings retailer, slid 9% in after-hours trading. The company gave a disappointing outlook on revenue, calling for $3.06 billion to $3.08 billion, compared to the Street’s estimates for $3.08 billion for the fiscal year.

See more movers here.

–Darla Mercado, Tanaya Macheel

U.S. stock futures hovered near the flat line on Thursday evening.

S&P 500 futures slipped by 0.08%, while Nasdaq 100 futures inched lower by 0.09%. Dow futures lost 26 points or 0.07%.

–Darla Mercado