U.S. stocks ended's Friday choppy session with meager gains but enough for the the sixth straight gain for the Dow and S&P 500, as Wall Street watched Congress get down to brass tacks on another coronavirus aid package before the summer recess, which looked in doubt as reports suggested that talks may spill over into the weekend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% at 27,434, the S&P 500 index edged up 2 points to about 3,351, gaining less than 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index finished solidly lower off 0.9%, ending a streak of seven gains in a row that had taken the tech-heavy index to a series of record closes and a finish about the psychologically significant mark at 11,000 for the first time on Thursday. On display on Friday, and throughout the week, were signs that a rotation out of stocks as again percolating. The small-capitalization Russell 2000 index finished up more than 1% on the day and marked a weekly advance of more than 5%. The benchmark is composed of companies that are viewed as more sensitive to weakness in the economy so rotation there is viewed as a bet on a better outlook for the business environment in the U.S. Similarly, the Dow Jones Transportation Average gained 2.4% on the day and 5.8% on week, with the average consisting of airlines, truckers, railroads and shippers that are also viewed as economically sensitive. The moves for stocks came after the U.S. added 1.76 million jobs in July-just one-third of the unexpected 4.8 million gain last month-with the unemployment rate falling to 10.2% from 11.1% in June. Consensus estimates from economists polled by MarketWatch had been for an increase of 1.7 million jobs on the month. Wall Street is still awaiting a resolution between Democrats and Republicans that might pave the way for an additional coronavirus aid package which is viewed as necessary for limiting the harm from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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