On The Fly: Top stock stories for Friday

Stocks opened higher and remained there throughout the session. The market was initially led by the Nasdaq but the breadth spread to the other indices in a broad based advance. The market's move was attributed to strength in the monthly jobs data which reported higher than expected Nonfarm and Private jobs. Oil prices moved higher as well as the Northeast experienced its first cold snap and first threat of winter storm weather. Bitcoin continued to be the talk of the market as it pared its gains for the week by falling as much as 6% for the session. ECONOMIC NEWS: In the U.S., nonfarm payrolls increased 228,000 in the month of November after rising 244,000 in October following the 38,000 hurricane-restrained September gain. The unemployment rate held at 4.1%. Michigan sentiment fell to 96.8 from 98.5 in November and a 13-year high of 100.7 in October, leaving the measure back below the previous 13-year high of 98.5 from last January. In addition, U.S. October wholesale sales rose 0.7% while inventories fell 0.5%, both a little weaker than forecast. In political news, Congress passed a two-week funding bill yesterday, averting a government shutdown a day ahead of the deadline. The president later signed the bill. In energy news, Baker Hughes reported that the U.S. rig count is up 2 rigs from last week to 931. COMPANY NEWS: Wells Fargo (WFC) shares were in focus after Reuters reported that Mick Mulvaney, the new acting head of the CFPB, is reviewing whether the bank should pay tens of millions of dollars over alleged mortgage lending abuse. Following the report, however, President Donald Trump tweeted, "Fines and penalties against Wells Fargo Bank for their bad acts against their customers and others will not be dropped, as has incorrectly been reported, but will be pursued and, if anything, substantially increased. I will cut Regs but make penalties severe when caught cheating!"... Meanwhile, shares of American Outdoor Brands (AOBC) slipped 9.5% after the parent of Smith & Wesson reported better-than-expected quarterly results but slashed its fiscal 2018 guidance, citing "challenging market conditions." Shares of rival gun maker Sturm Ruger (RGR) fell nearly 8% after the news... In addition, Alexion (ALXN) shares rose 7.2% after Bloomberg reported that Elliott Management has built a stake in the company and is asking it to bring on new board members, improve margins and consider a potential sale. MARKET MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Sigma Designs (SIGM), which surged 23.2% after the company agreed to be acquired by Silicon Labs (SLAB) for $7.05 per share. Also higher after reporting quarterly results were Finisar (FNSR) and SAIC (SAIC), which gained a respective 1.2% and 5.9%. Among the notable losers were Veeco Instruments (VECO), which dropped 18.8% after a Chinese court ruled that the company must stop importing, making, selling and offering to sell Veeco EPIK 700 model MOCVD systems, which the court said infringed on a patent held by Shanghai-based AMEC. Also lower was La Jolla (LJPC), which slipped 15% after JPMorgan analyst Anupam Rama double downgraded the stock to Underweight from Overweight. INDEXES: The Dow rose 117.68, or 0.49%, to 24,329.16, the Nasdaq gained 27.24, or 0.40%, to 6,840.08, and the S&P 500 advanced 14.52, or 0.55%, to 2,651.50.