Friday's early afternoon trade: S&P on track to snap eight-day losing streak

The S&P 500 index was on track to snap its eight-day losing streak, its longest since 2008, even as worries over the outcome of the US presidential election continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Still, the three major indexes looked set to post steep weekly losses. Investors have been unnerved by signs the US presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump is tightening, after Clinton had until recently been thought to have a clear lead.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos polling showed Clinton, seen as the status quo candidate by markets, maintaining a narrow lead over Trump. However, several swing states that the Republican challenger must win have shifted from favouring Clinton to toss-ups, offering Trump a possible route to victory.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 161,000 jobs last month amid gains in construction, healthcare and professional and business services, the Labor Department said. Unemployment rate fell to 4.9 percent from 5.0 percent and average hourly earnings increased 0.4 percent in October after advancing 0.3 percent in September. "They were good numbers and pretty much in line with everything we've seen so far," said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago.
"The market will continue to focus on the polls and probable election results." Though the US central bank is expected to increase borrowing costs next month, that decision will likely depend on the outcome of Tuesday's election. Traders are pricing in a 71.5 percent chance for a December rate hike, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
The CBOE Volatility Index, a gauge of near-term investor anxiety, fell 2 percent but stayed near a more than four-month high. At 12:40 pm ET (1640 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average was up 41.09 points, or 0.23 percent, at 17,971.76. The S&P 500 was up 8.44 points, or 0.4 percent, at 2,097.1. The Nasdaq Composite was up 20.75 points, or 0.41 percent, at 5,079.16. Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, with the healthcare index's 1.03 percent rise leading the gainers.