While stocks were unable to sustain an early upward move, they were able to end Friday's trading mostly higher after seeing some volatility. The major averages all ended the day in positive territory but well off the one-year intraday highs set earlier in the session.
The early strength in the markets came as traders reacted to a much better than expected employment report, which showed only a modest decrease in jobs in November as well as an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate.
Airline stocks turned in some of the market's best performances, extending a recent upward move. The strength in the sector is reflected by the 4.3 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index, which ended the session at its best closing level in over a year.
Significant strength was also visible among commercial real estate, electronic storage, transportation, and brokerage stocks. On the other hand, gold stocks posted steep losses amid a substantial pullback by the price of the precious metal.
The major averages all finished the session above the unchanged line but well off their best levels of the day. The Dow closed up 22.75 at 10,388.90, the Nasdaq closed up 21.21 at 2,194.35 and the S&P 500 closed up 6.06 at 1,105.98.
With the gains, the major averages all closed higher for the week, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq outperforming its counterparts. The Nasdaq jumped 2.6 percent for the week, while the Dow and the S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.