By Purvi Agarwal and Nikhil Sharma Jan 9 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 set an intraday record high on Friday as a weaker-than-expected jobs report did little to alter expectations of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year, while a rally in chip stocks provided an additional boost. A Labor Department report showed U.S. employment growth slowed more than expected in December, but a decline in the unemployment rate to 4.4% suggested the labor market was not rapidly deteriorating. Traders boosted bets on a pause in interest rate cuts in January following the report, but are still pricing in about 54 basis points of easing in 2026, according to data compiled by LSEG. "This is a report that's somewhat within the range of expectations of investors, so they're not reacting," said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide. At 12:17 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 267.68 points, or 0.54%, to 49,533.79, the S&P 500 gained 43.41 points, or 0.63%, to 6,964.87 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 172.56 points, or 0.73%, to 23,652.09. Chip stocks rallied. Broadcom and Lam Research rose 3.6% and 7%, respectively, and were among the biggest boosts to the S&P 500. Intel gained 7.1% after Trump said he had a "great meeting" with the chipmaker's chief executive officer, Lip-Bu Tan. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index was up 2.4%, set for its biggest weekly jump in over a month. The S&P 500 utilities index led broader gains, with a 1.3% jump. Vistra jumped 12.6% after Meta Platforms struck 20-year agreements to buy power from the company's nuclear plants. The S&P 500 healthcare and financial indexes trended 0.5% and 0.1% lower, respectively. Consumer discretionary stocks and miners were set to outperform peers this week, even as energy stocks got a significant boost following Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's capture over the weekend and banks hit record highs ahead of quarterly earnings. Hackett said that consumer discretionary and traditionally cyclical sectors had been "left behind from a performance and a valuation perspective," so it was easier to see stronger returns in these sectors compared to tech stocks. The U.S. Supreme Court said it will not issue a ruling on the legality of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on Friday, leaving investors waiting for clarity on the future of the duties. Traders are anticipating heightened volatility across financial markets if the court strikes down the tariffs. Among other stocks, mortgage lenders rose a day after Trump said he is ordering his representatives to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds to bring down housing costs. LoanDepot surged 21.7%, Rocket Companies gained 6.5% and Opendoor Technologies rose 20.5%. The Philadelphia Housing index gained 3.4% to hit its highest level in close to a month. General Motors shares slipped about 3% after the automaker said on Thursday it would take a $6 billion charge to unwind some electric-vehicle investments. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.34-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.55-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 41 new 52-week highs and six new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 124 new highs and 48 new lows. (Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
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