New York (AFP)

The Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices closed on record highs on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, edging up after strong US employment figures for July.

The Nasdaq has retreated.

According to final results, the Dow Jones advanced 0.41% to 35.208.51 points, a peak from its previous record at the end of July.

The extended S&P 500 index registered a few points leading it to a new record after the previous day's 4.436.52 points (+ 0.17%).

The technology-intensive Nasdaq fell 0.40% to 14,835.76 points.

"The session ended mixed, posting a weekly gain" and records "after a better-than-expected employment report," Schwab analysts noted.

While these figures "have sparked some optimism," they also "raise questions about what this means for the Fed's monetary policy," they added.

According to the report from the Ministry of Labor, the unemployment rate fell from 5.9% to 5.4%, to the surprise of analysts who expected 5.6%.

Last month, the US economy created 943,000 jobs, more than expected, and hires for June were revised up to 938,000, as well as those for May.

The hotel and restaurant sectors hired heavily (380,000), reflecting the rebound in the economy.

But the numbers are still 10% lower compared to the period before the pandemic.

Up for the 4th month in a row, the average hourly wage rose 11 cents, or + 0.4% and + 4% year on year, which may rekindle inflation fears.

Even setting new records, Wall Street's rather subdued reaction, according to Art Hogan of National Securities, was due to the fact that stocks were already moving to highs.

"We are at record levels, it tempers the reaction."

The employment figures "are very good news, what we needed," said the analyst adding that on an average of three months, 831,000 new monthly jobs were created against 559,000 on average a month earlier.

- Measure your enthusiasm -

"This is clearly a step in the right direction" towards a recovery in the labor market but also towards confirmation that the Central Bank (Fed) could announce its program to reduce asset purchases in September, Hogan told the AFP.

"The markets must measure their enthusiasm" between the dynamism of the recovery evidenced by these good figures and the prospect of a reduction in monetary support from the Fed which is approaching, he added.

With this positive recovery data implying a tightening of monetary policy sooner rather than later, bond yields on 10-year US debt were climbing.

At 1.30% around 8:30 p.m. GMT against 1.22% the day before, they were at their highest for two weeks.

The dollar also strengthened significantly against major currencies.

It was at its highest since April against the euro.

Among stocks, those of banks have taken advantage of this rise in rates, such as Wells Fargo (+ 3.79%) or Goldman Sachs (+ 3.54% to 397.89 dollars, a historic high for the title).

Florida-based Spirit Airlines dropped 4.11% after canceling more than a thousand flights this week, blaming the weather and problems with personnel and computers.

Travel site Expedia lost 7.92% after reporting good results but uncertain prospects due to loss of travel confidence due to the Delta variant.

The volatile stock of online broker Robinhood was on the rise (+ 7.93%, to $ 55) after losing more than a quarter of its value (-27.59%) the day before following an outbreak in the middle of the week.

Heavyweight of the Nasdaq, the internet commerce giant Amazon fell 0.92% to 3,344.94 dollars.

© 2021 AFP