U.S. stocks traded mixed midway through trading, with the Dow Jones index gaining around 80 points on Friday.
The Dow traded up 0.21% to 38,874.05 while the NASDAQ fell 0.42% to 16,204.26. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.13% to 5,150.72.
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Leading and Lagging Sectors
Real estate shares jumped by 1.1% on Friday.
In trading on Friday, consumer staples shares fell by 0.8%.
Top Headline
Nonfarm payrolls beat economist estimates, coming at 275,000 in February compared to the expected 200,000. The unemployment rate rose from 3.7% to 3.9%, surprising estimates of 3.7%.
Average hourly wages grew at a 0.1% monthly pace in February, easing from the downwardly revised 0.5% growth in January, and below the expected 0.3%.
Equities Trading UP
Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: WLDN) shares shot up 27% to $25.16 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and issued FY24 guidance above estimates. Also, the company secured a contract worth approximately $30 million to $50 million over three years.