The Unemployment Rate in November declined to 8.6% from 9.0% as the labor force contracts. Non-farm payrolls rose by 120,000 with private sector jobs up 140,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up to 12,146 68 then consolidated that move. The NASDAQ traded up to 2659.23 then declined to 2629.45.

Asian stocks were modestly higher on Friday with the Nikkei 225 at 8,644 – up 0.54% and the Hang Seng at 19,040 – up 0.20%. European stocks rebounded on the positive employment data in the US.  The FTSE 100 ended the day at 5,552 – up 1.15%; the DAX ended the day at 6,081 – up 1.12%; and the CAC 40 ended the day at 3,165 – up 1.12%. The yield on the US Treasury 10-Year note rose from 2.079 percent to 2.167 then came down to 2.052 as stocks faded. Gold traded up from $1741.7 the Troy ounce to $1767.1 then consolidated that gain. Crude oil traded between $99.76 per barrel and $101.56. The euro versus the dollar traded down from 1.3537 to 1.3366.

Energy

Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) gets assigned an Outperform and $16 objective with Wedbush. In afternoon trading: Shares of Penn Virginia (PVA) are up about 9.5%. Shares of Goodrich Petroleum (GDP) are up about 7.25%. Shares of Ship Finance International (SFL) are up about 7.25%. Shares of Lucas Energy (LEI) are up about 7.25%.

Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was trading at $70.42 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down slightly on the day – up 3.18% year-to-date.

Materials

Louisiana-Pacific (LPX) is reduced to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital. In afternoon trading: Actives: Shares of Alcoa (AA) are up about 1.7%. Shares of Freeport McMoran (FCX) are up about 1.25%. Shares of United States Steel (X) are up about 4.9%. Shares of Vale SA (VALE) are up about 2%.

The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) was trading at $34.00 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 0.87% on the day – down 11.48% year-to-date.

Industrials

Major railway companies, including CSX (CSX) and Union Pacific (UNP), appear to have avoided a damaging pre-Christmas strike of almost 50,000 workers next week after reaching tentative labor deals with two big unions. Atlas Air Worldwide (AAWW) is begun with a Buy and $51 price objective at Maxim Group. Beacon Roofing Supply (BECN) is cut to Hold from Buy at Keybanc. In afternoon trading: Shares of Navios Maritime Partners (NMM) are up about 12.5%. Shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping (EGLE) are up about 7.25%.

The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was trading at $33.71 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 0.21% on the day – down 3.33% year-to-date.

Consumer Discretionary

Thomson Reuters (TRI) is replacing CEO Tom Glocer with COO James Smith following a slump in its share price. Big Lots (BIG) missed estimates by 8 cents, while beating revenue by $10M. Zumiez (ZUMZ) beat estimates by 4 cents and revenue by $1M. H&R Block (HRB) missed estimates by 3 cents, while beating revenue by $9M. Ulta Salon’s (ULTA) Q3 beats on a per share basis but comes up short on revenue. PVH (PVH) beat estimates by 8 cents with revenue in-line with estimates. Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) is a Hold at KeyBanc Capital. Energizer (ENR) is initiated with a Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott, which has a new Neutral on Helen of Troy (HELE). Steven Madden, Ltd (SHOO) is a new Buy at Canaccord Genuity. Lowe’s (LOW) is lifted to Buy from Neutral at Goldman. Lululemon Athletica (LULU) is lifted to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays, to Buy from Neutral at Janney Capital, and Buy from Underweight at Keybanc. Guess (GES) is lowered to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. Rolls Royce PLC (RYCEY) is moved to Sell from Neutral at UBS. In afternoon trading: Shares of Zumiez are up about 22.25%. Shares of Barnes & Noble (BKS) are up about 12.25%. Shares of Teavana Holdings (TEA) are down about 10.5%.

The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was trading at $39.07 at 4:00 PM on Friday, up 0.77% on the day – up 4.44% year-to-date.

Consumer Staples

Energizer (ENR) is initiated with a Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott, which has a new Neutral on Helen of Troy (HELE). In afternoon trading: Shares of Imperial Sugar (IPSU) are up about 15.75%. Shares of China-Biotics (CHBT) are up about 15.5%. Shares of Central European Distribution (CEDC) are up about 7%. Shares of AgFeed Industries (FEED) are down about 12.75%. Shares of Universal Corp. (UVV) are down about 7.75%.

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was trading at $31.74 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 0.35% on the day – up 8.29% year-to-date.

Healthcare

Anthera Pharmaceuticals (ANTH) is a new Buy and $13 target price at Collins Stewart. MAP Pharmaceuticals (MAPP) is picked up at an Overweight by JPMorgan. Celldex Therapeutics (CLDX) is a new Buy at Jefferies. Sirona Dental Systems (SIRO) is pulled from Goldman’s Conviction Buy List. In afternoon trading: Shares of Tenet Healthcare (THC) are down about 10%. Shares of Health Management Associates (HMA) are down about 9.75%. Shares of Exelixis Inc. (EXEL) are down about 8.75%. Shares of HCA Holdings (HCA) are down about 8%.

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) was trading at $33.51 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 1.24% on the day – up 6.38% year-to-date.

Financials

Regulators are considering new rules for brokerages following MF Global’s (MFGLQ) collapse, with the CFTC due to vote next week on restricting the use of customer money and the SEC looking to enforce new accounting disclosures. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) missed estimates by C$0.01, while beating revenue by $50M. Allstate (ALL) is upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank. Sun Life Financial (SLF) is moved to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) is now Neutral from Buy at UBS. Cash America (CSH) is cut to Neutral from Buy at Sterne Agee. Franklin Resources (BEN) is moved to Neutral from Buy at Ticonderoga. In afternoon trading: Shares of MF Global are up about 8.25%. Shares of Jeffries Group (JEK) are up about 8.25%. Shares of Strategic Hotels & Resorts (BEE) are up about 8%.

The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was trading at $12.91 at 4:00 PM on Friday, up 1.33% on the day – down 19.06% year-to-date.

Information Technology

Despite the fall in value of recently listed Internet plays, Zynga (ZNGA) has filed for an IPO in which it plans to sell 100M shares, or 14.3% of its stock, at a price of $8.50-$10. Research In Motion (RIMM) will take a $485M pretax provision in relation to its PlayBook and now expects FQ3 revenue to be slightly lower than the previous range of $5.3B-5.6B, with EPS coming in at the low to mid-point of RIM’s prior prediction of $1.20-$1.40. For FQ4, RIM said that lower shipments will hurt its outlook, while it no longer expects to meet its full-year EPS guidance of $5.25-$6.00. Western Digital (WDC) has joined rival Seagate (STX) in signaling a recovery from the Thai floods, saying that it has restarted the output of hard disk drives and that it is raising its FQ2 revenue outlook to at least $1.8B. Electronic Arts (ERTS) continues to expand its casual gaming arsenal as it looks to challenge Zynga, with EA saying it is acquiring KlickNation, a developer of social role-playing games. Avago Technologies (AVGO) beat estimates by 3 cents and revenue by $2M. The company also guides FQ1 revenue below expectations, now expecting revenue to be down sequentially between 10% – 14% to a range of $560M – $536M (below Street estimates of $594M). Intuit (INTU) is a new Neutral at Goldman Sachs. Ariba (ARBA) and Concur Technologies (CNQR) are both new Neutrals at Goldman. The bank is more bullish on SuccessFactors (SFSF), adding the stock to its Conviction Buy List. Infosys (INFY) is a fresh Hold at Jefferies, which begins Buy rated coverage on its Bangalore-based rival Wipro (WIT). Sina Corp (SINA) is hoisted to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank. Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) is upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform with Wells Fargo. Analog Devices (ADI) is now Buy from Neutral at Sterne Agee. Celestica (CLS) is moved to Sell from Neutral at Ticonderoga with a $5 price objective. In afternoon trading: Shares of Mitel Networks (MITL) are up about 35%. Shares of Research In Motion are down about 9.5%.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) was trading at $25.74 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down slightly on the day – up 2.18% year-to-date.

Telecommunications Services

American Tower (AMT) and Crown Castle (CCI) are each initiated with Outperforms at Macquarie. In afternoon trading: Actives: Shares of Sprint Nextel (S) are down about 1.7%, while shares of AT&T (T) are up about 0.8% and shares of Verizon (VZ) are up about 0.5%. Shares of Clearwire (CLWR) are up about 1.7%.

The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index (IXTC) was trading at $199.76 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 0.45% on the day – down 11.36% year-to-date.

Utilities

Ameren (AEE) is lowered to Underperform from Neutral by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. In afternoon trading: Shares of Dynegy (DYN) are up about 8%. Actives: Shares of Duke Energy (DUK) are down about 0.5%. Shares of AES Corp. (AES) are down about 2%. Shares of Exelon (EXC) are down about 1.6%. Shares of Ameren are down about 4%. Shares of NV Energy (NVE) are down about 3.7%. Shares of UGI Corp. (UGI) are down about 4.9%.

The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) was trading at $34.75 at 4:00 PM on Friday, down 1.03% on the day – up 10.88% year-to-date.

STOCKS: GPRE, PVA, GDP, SFL, LEI, LPX, AA, FCX, X, VALE, CSX, UNP, AAWW, BECN, NMM, EGLE, TRI, BIG, ZUMZ, HRB, ULTA, PVH, DPZ, ENR, HELE, SHOO, LOW, LULU, GES, RYCEY, BKS, TEA, IPSU, CHBT, CEDC, FEED, UVV, ANTH, MAPP, CLDX, SIRO, THC, HMA, EXEL, HCA, MFGLQ, BNS, ALL, SLF, CM, CSH, BEN, JEK, BEE, ZNGA, RIMM, WDC, STX, ERTS, AVGO, INTU, CNQR, SFSF, INFY, WIT, SINA, BAH, ADI, CLS, MITL, AMT, CCI, S, T, VZ, CLWR, AEE, DYN, DUK, AES, EXC, NVE, UGI