Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
Stocks closed mostly higher Friday, with the Nasdaq one hundred leading the charge, up one point three five percent, as chipmakers clawed back recent losses. The S and P five hundred added nearly a third of a percent, while the Dow slipped fractionally, weighed down by rate-sensitive names.
Driving that pressure on rates, the dollar surged to a one-week high after October's payroll report came in hotter than expected. Wages rose, unemployment unexpectedly fell, and traders immediately repriced Fed expectations in a hawkish direction. The dollar index finished up nearly three quarters of a percent, putting bonds and rate-sensitive equities on the back foot heading into the weekend.
Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway's Pacific Power utility is asking California regulators to approve a fifty-seven percent rate increase, which would add roughly one hundred twenty dollars a month to the typical residential power bill. The request lands at a politically charged moment, with consumers already strained and regulators under intense scrutiny over utility accountability and wildfire liability costs.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
