US stocks closed at record highs as shares of Apple and Qualcomm led the way. Nasdaq Composite outperformed its counterparts closing 0.74% higher with S&P and Dow closing 0.31 and 0.10% higher respectively. Apple shares rose more than 2% on better quarterly earnings.
The dollar rose to an 8-month high against the yen, despite a less than overwhelming jobs report. USD/JPY hit 114.74 overnight. The greenback recorded gains against its major rivals. EUR/USD fell to 1.1590.
The US economy added 261k jobs last month, missing expectations for 313k, the NFP report showed on Friday. Average hourly earnings disappointed, coming in flat versus expectations for 0.2% rise. The jobless rate fell to 4.1% versus 4.2%.
Emerging currencies struggled at the end of the week. USD/TRY rose nearly 2.5% and USD/ZAR was up 1.80%.
The Canadian dollar is a strong performer from Friday, with an upbeat jobs report despite the unemployment rate rising slightly. Cable also bounced back from Thursday’s woes and is up across the board.
Gold traded slightly lower while silver is bouncing back from Friday’s lows. Crude Oil WTI is up near its year’s highs and rose above $56 per barrel.
