Stocks edge higher in Friday Finale

Good Afternoon! 

Hey, everyone. It's Adam from Elite Trade Club. 

Here’s what moved the market today.

Markets 📈

The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq closed higher for the first time this year on Friday, after a robust December jobs report boosted investor sentiment ahead of the opening bell.

However, none of the major indexes managed to post a sizeable gain. The day’s largest gain was smaller than 0.2%.

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Market-Moving News 🔎 

 📈 U.S. Labor Market Ends 2023 on a High Note

The U.S. labor market concluded 2023 with robust hiring, outpacing expectations. According to the Labor Department, December witnessed the addition of 216,000 jobs, maintaining the unemployment rate at a steady 3.7%.

This performance exceeded the anticipated payroll increase of 170,000 and surpassed the revised November figure of 173,000. October's numbers also underwent a downward revision, painting a slightly less vigorous growth picture for the year's final quarter.

📉 Adjustments in Unemployment Measures 
Despite the strong job growth, there were nuances in the employment landscape:

• A broader measure of unemployment, accounting for discouraged workers and those in part-time jobs for economic reasons, ticked up to 7.1%.

• The household survey, a tool for determining the unemployment rate, indicated a decrease in job holders by 683,000, although there was an increase of 222,000 in individuals holding multiple jobs.

📊 Labor Force Participation Dips 
December also saw a decline in the labor force participation rate, dropping to 62.5%. This is the lowest since February and represents a monthly decrease of 676,000.

🔍 2023’s Overall Employment Trends 
The December report, alongside revisions of previous months, culminated in 2023 witnessing a total job gain of 2.7 million.

This translates to an average of 225,000 jobs per month, a slowdown compared to the 4.8 million jobs, or an average of 399,000 per month, added in 2022.

The December job numbers reflect a resilient U.S. labor market at the end of 2023, albeit with complex undercurrents in participation rates and broader unemployment metrics.

The year's performance, while robust, also indicates a tapering in job growth momentum compared to the previous year.

Revelston Capital [RCACI] $10.80 (+91.1%)
canceled a shareholder meeting that was scheduled to approve its proposed merger with Set Jet.

Zoomcar [ZCAR] $4.22 (+64.8%)
rebounded to its first gain since closing its merger with Innovative International SPAC on Dec. 28th, 2023.

Ainos [AIMD] $2.74 (+58.3%)
regaining compliance with Nasdaq’s $1 minimum bid price requirement.

Dogness Intl. [DOGZ] $4.39 (51.3%)
suddenly pulled back after gaining for several sessions.

Medical Properties [MPW] $3.55 (29.0%) provided an update on its Steward Health Care business after Thursday’s close, prompting a downgrade from KeyBanc analysts.

Applied Therapeutics [APLT] $2.25 (40.6%) 
said its diabetes-associated heart disease drug AT-001 failed to achieve its primary endpoint in an ARISE-HF Phase 3 trial.

That's it for today! Please, write us back, and let us know what you think of the Closing Bell Roundup. We're always eager to hear feedback from our members!

Thanks for reading. I'll see you at the next open! 

Best Regards,
— Adam G.
Elite Trade Club

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