US shares hit fresh highs on Friday driven by a jobs report that signalled pressure in the retail sector but expansion in construction.
The US created 148,000 jobs in December, missing estimates of 190,000.
While the number of jobs created missed estimates, average wages came inline with economists prediction at at annualised growth rate of 2.5%.
“A little bit of a disappointment when you only get 2,000 jobs out of the government and get retail at the absolute busiest time of the year losing 20,000 jobs. It just goes to show the true struggle that traditional brick and mortar is having now…Outside of that I actually thought it was a good report.” said JJ Kinahan, of TD Ameritrade.
US stocks took the release as enough reason to break to new highs with the S&P 500 trading above 2731 in early trade.
Shares in the US have had a solid start to the year as investors price in the potential benefits of Trump’s much anticipated tax reforms.