Dow, S&P 500 inch to records after October jobs report

NEW YORK, Nov 8 (AFP): The Dow and S&P 500 Friday edged to fresh records after the Labor Department reported the US economy added 214,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate fell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 19.46 points (0.11 per cent) at 17,573.93, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.71 (0.03 per cent) to 2,031.92. Friday marked the third straight record close for the two indices.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 5.94 (0.13 per cent) to 4,632.53.
The October jobs growth came in below the 235,000 expected by analysts. But the Labor Department revised upward by a total of 31,000 the number of net new jobs gained in the previous two months.
The report also said the unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a per centage point to 5.8 per cent, its lowest level since July 2008.
Analysts said the report marked another month of job growth above 200,000, but was not strong enough to prod the Federal Reserve to shift from its plan to keep interest rates low well into 2015.
The report "was fairly good for markets considering that it indicated a continued slow improvement in the labor market, which should continue to keep rates low into the second half of next year, if not longer," said David Levy, portfolio manager at Kenjol Capital Management.
Dow member The Walt Disney Company fell 2.2 per cent after reporting a 7.5 per cent rise in fourth-quarter earnings to $1.5 billion. Analysts expressed concern that the entertainment giant's earnings growth would slow in 2015.
Sears Holdings jumped 31.0 per cent as it announced it was considering the sale of some of its real estate to a newly formed real estate investment trust. The company could sell property housing 200-300 stores and then lease back the space from the trust.