Stock market live Friday: S&P 500 ends flat, Nasdaq first down day in 8, no progress on stimulus deal

• The Dow closed 46.50 points higher, or 0.2%, at 27,433.48, for its sixth straight day of gains
• The S&P 500 closed up 0.1% at 3,351.28, for its sixth straight day of gains
• The Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.9% to 11,010.98, snapping a seven-session winning streak
• Eight of 11 S&P 500 sectors closed in the green; financials were the biggest gainer, rising 2.18%
• Gold settled down 2% at $2,028 per ounce for its first negative day in six, after  hitting a new intraday all-time high of $2,089.2. — Gina Francolla, Yun Li

The S&P 500 ended Friday's session near the flat line as investors weighed the better-than-expected jobs data against the uncertain outlook for a new coronavirus stimulus deal. The Nasdaq fell 0.8%, posting its first negative day in eight. The Dow eked out a 47-point gain after dropping 160 points at its session low. — Yun Li

As talks over another Covid-19 relief package stalled on Friday, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said he planned to "encourage" executive action.

"In the meantime, we're going to take executive orders to try to alleviate some of the pain that people are experiencing. This is not a perfect answer, we'll be the first ones to say that. But it is all we can do and all the president can do within the confines of his executive power, and we're going to encourage it." - Pippa Stevens

Talks between Democratic leaders and the Trump administration on the next coronavirus relief package fell apart Friday afternoon. The two sides failed to reach a consensus on how to continue enhanced federal unemployment benefits and aid state and local governments facing budget shortfalls during the outbreak. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the 90-minute meeting "disappointing." He and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the White House again rejected an offer for Democrats to reduce their asking price by $1 trillion and the Trump administration to increase its price tag by the same amount. — Yun Li, Jacob Pramuk

The Nasdaq Composite was on pace to snap a seven-day winning streak, falling more than 1% on the back of broad declines from major tech names. The Dow and S&P 500 were headed for their first declines in six sessions, falling 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. —Fred Imbert

Shares of AMC Entertainment and Cinemark moved sharply higher after a federal court ended the Paramount Consent Decrees, which have regulated the movie industry for more than 70 years. The termination of the decrees could potentially open the door for acquisitions of theater chains by movie studios, which was previously banned. Shares of AMC jumped 19% following the news, while Cinemark gained 4.8%. — Jesse Pound

Nearly 90% of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported their quarterly results, and 83% of them posted a positive earnings surprise, according to FactSet. If the momentum continues, it would mark the highest percentage of S&P 500 companies reporting a positive EPS surprise since FactSet began tracking this metric in 2008. Meanwhile, earnings decline for the second quarter for the S&P 500 has come to 33.8%, which would be the largest year-over-year decline since the first quarter of 2009. — Yun Li

The major averages were on pace for their first daily declines of the month amid rising U.S.-China tensions and uncertainty over a coronavirus fiscal package. The Dow dipped 0.2%, or 62 points. The Nasdaq Composite also fell 0.2% while the S&P 500 traded marginally lower. Both the Dow and S&P 500 were set to snap five-day winning streaks while the Nasdaq was headed for its first decline in eight sessions. —Fred Imbert

The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) has risen 6.5% this week, on pace for its sixth straight weekly gain and its best week since June 5. The gains in the ETF were led by Groupon, which soared 46% on Friday alone on better-than-expected quarterly results.The online marketplace reported a narrower-than-expected second-quarter net loss and revenue that was more than double analyst estimates. The stock is on pace for its best day ever back to its IPO in 2011. More than 8 million shares of Groupon have changed hands so far Friday, almost quintupling its 30-day average volume of 1.6 million shares.— Yun Li, Gina Francolla

The Trump administration said Friday it will impose a fresh round of sanctions on 11 individuals, including Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, over their role in curtailing political freedoms in Hong Kong. The White House has been critical of Beijing's recent decision to pass a sweeping national security law aimed at limiting Hong Kong's autonomy and banning literature critical of the Chinese Communist Party. 

Stocks hit session lows following the news, with the Dow dropping 150 points. Investors have been on edge about the worsening tensions between the U.S. and China. — Yun Li, Amanda Macias

The Dow has entered a "golden cross," which means more gains could be on the horizon.

On Thursday the benchmark index's 50-day moving average broke above its 200-day trend line, which is traditionally a bullish signal, for the first time since March. The opposite scenario, called a "death cross," is seen as a bearish technical indicator.

The Dow has rallied 50% since its March 23 low. - Pippa Stevens 

Jefferies raised its price target on Friday on the home improvement stores to Street highs ahead of their earnings reports later this month. The firm raised its price target on Home Depot to $187 from $156 and on Lowe's to $306 from $285. "Geolocation data suggests LOW foot traffic growth outperformed each month, though the divide narrowed as 2Q progressed," analyst Jonathan Matuszewski said. "Web traffic suggests HD outperformed each month as measured by total visit growth," he added. The firm kept its buy rating on both stocks. Shares of Lowe's and Home Depot are up over 1% in early trading. - Michael Bloom

The major averages slid at the open on Friday, as tensions between the U.S. and China rise, and as lawmakers continue to discuss another coronavirus relief package. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 78 points for a loss of 3%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.35% and 0.38%, respectively. However, overnight trading had pointed to sharper losses at the open, but some of the downside was capped after better-than-expected jobs data. - Pippa Stevens 

• Evercore ISI upgraded Brinker to outperform from in-line
• Stephens downgraded The Trade Desk to equal weight from overweight
• Stephens named FedEx a best idea
• Compass point downgraded Callaway Golf to neutral from buy
• JPMorgan reiterated T-Mobile as a top idea

Pro Subscribers can read more here.- Michael Bloom

U.S. equity futures pared their losses on Friday following the Labor Department's July jobs report. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 1.763 million for the month, higher than the estimated 1.48 million, according to economists polled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate fell to 10.2% from its previous 11.1%, compared to the estimate of 10.6%. Leisure and hospitality led the month in job growth. May and June saw a combined increase of more than 7.5 million, the fastest two-month rise in U.S. history. Dow futures last traded down 65 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also set to open lower. — Maggie Fitzgerald, Jeff Cox 

U.S. jobs rose by 1.763 million in July, versus the 1.48 million expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. - Jeff Cox

Goldman Sachs revised its previously reported quarterly earnings to the downside on Friday due to the 1MDB scandal.

The bank said that it earmarked $2.96 billion for possible legal and regulatory costs, significantly higher than the previously announced $945 million. The higher sum reduces the bank's second quarter net earnings to $197 million from $2.25 billion previously.

Goldman Sachs said on July 24 that it had settled a key part of the international scandal by agreeing to a $3.9 billion deal with Malaysia.

Shares were about 1% lower during premarket trading. - Pippa Stevens

Talks are ongoing as Washington struggles to reach a deal on another coronavirus relief package. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in separate appearances on CNBC on Thursday indicated that both sides want a deal to be reached, but that major differences remain.

Democrats want to extend the extra unemployment benefits at $600 a week into next year. In their legislation, Senate Republicans called to continue the payments at $200 per week through September, then set the benefit at 70% wage replacement. 

"The argument is over how much [aid] is appropriate at this particular juncture," McConnell told CNBC.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has indicated the Trump administration could pull out of talks and try to address jobless benefits and the eviction moratorium by executive action if the sides fail to reach an agreement by Friday. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer insisted Wednesday that Democrats "are not walking away" from talks. - Jacob Pramuk, Pippa Stevens

President Donald Trump issued two executive orders on Thursday that would ban U.S. firms and individuals from making transactions with China-based WeChat and TikTok in 45 days. Bytedance is the parent company of TikTok, which threatened legal action in response to the move. The executive order would go into effect after the Sept. 15 deadline for the negotiations between Bytedance and Microsoft for the social media app. Shares of Tencent, which is the parent company of WeChat, in Hong Kong fell 5% during Friday's session. — Jesse Pound, Saheli Roy Choudhury

Gold futures hit a new intraday all-time high of $2,089.2 per ounce on Friday as investors poured into the safe haven asset ahead of the closely watched jobs report. Gold is up about 4.12% this week, on pace for its ninth straight weekly gain for the first time since May 2006. Gold futures, however, last traded down about 0.08% at $2,067.8 per ounce. Spot gold dipped about 0.32% to $2,056.4 per ounce on Friday. —Maggie Fitzgerald

Job growth was expected to have cooled off in July from its torrid pace in May and June. Nonfarm payrolls were expected to increase by 1.48 million during the month, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones. However, there was a tremendous range of uncertainty about the figure, with estimates ranging from a decline of about half a million to growth of 3 million. Rollbacks in activity due to increasing Covid-19 cases are expected to have cooled the move to bring back displaced workers, but it's unclear whether that will show up in the July or August data. Regardless, the past two months, which saw payrolls rebound by a record 7.5 million, appears to have been the peak for this cycle. The unemployment rate is projected to fall from 11.1% to 10.6%. — Jeff Cox

Stock futures fell in overnight trading and pointed to losses at the open for the major averages as the Street awaits the latest unemployment data, and as tensions between the U.S. and China escalate. 

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 106 points, or 0.4%. The move implied a drop of more than 120 points at the open. S&P 500 futures lost 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures slid 0.4%.

The move lower jeopardizes a winning streak for stocks, which has seen the Dow and S&P 500 post five straight days of gains, while the Nasdaq Composite has posted seven consecutive days of gains. - Pippa Stevens