Jobs data help calm Wall Street nerves Wall Street stocks were muted in the week's final trading session after the latest employment sector data showed the US economy added 155,00 jobs last month. The S&P 500 edged fractionally higher to 1,459.85 in early activity on Friday. The Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.2 per cent to 3,095.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 13,392.53. The tempered reaction among investors to the jobs data, which saw the unemployment rate rise slightly to 7.8 per cent, came as stocks were on course to record their best week in more than a year. The benchmark S&P 500 has risen 4.4 per cent so far this week. Most of the gains came during the week's first two trading sessions as politicians came together to avoid the fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax rises. The benchmark stands within 6 points of closing at a post financial crisis high. On Friday, eight of the 10 industry groups on the S&P 500 were trading in positive territory with material sector stocks notching up the largest gains. The sector index rose 0.5 per cent with gains from Sherwin-Williams Company, which added 1.6 per cent to $157.56, and aluminium manufacturer Alcoa, up 1.1 per cent to $9.17. Lululemon, the sports clothing retailer, was among the worst-performing stocks on the day. Shares in the company, which rose 63.4 per cent in 2012, were down 5.6 per cent to $70.91 after analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded their rating on its stock from "buy" to "hold." The analysts cited slowing sales momentum in its mature markets and pressure on its gross margins for the downgrade. Citigroup, the US bank, added to its weekly gains and rose 1.5 per cent to $42 on Friday. Shares in the company were up 7.7 per cent for the week. In deal news, Hormel Foods, a producer of canned meats, climbed 3 per cent to $34.18. On Thursday, the company said it would purchase the Skippy peanut butter business from Unilever for $700m in cash.