A stronger-than-expected July non-farm payrolls report lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its eighth consecutive record closing high - Dow up +67points or +0.30% (with Goldman Sachs the leading performer with a +2.59% gain) and the broader S&P500 +0.19% (with Financials leading sector gains). It also marked the 12th consecutive session that the S&P500 has not finished with a daily move of at least 0.3% in either direction, the longest such streak on record. The technology centric NASDAQ edged +0.18% higher. Also helping markets were comments from White House economic advisor Gary Cohn suggesting that the US corporate tax rate could be cut by at least a third, with Mr Cohn repeating the Trump administration's timetable of getting a comprehensive tax bill completed "early the fall" (September) in an interview with Bloomberg TV. For the week, the Dow added +1.2% and the S&P500 +0.2% (with the Financials sector gaining +1.8%), while the Nasdaq shed -0.4%.
