2 Bright Spots in Friday's Stock Market Downturn

The stock market continued to lose ground on Friday morning, pushed lower in a phenomenon that's familiar to longtime investors. News that jobs growth was stronger than expected fed fears that the U.S. economy might actually bounce back too strongly from the COVID-19 pandemic. That could create inflationary pressures that in turn might destroy the underpinnings of the stock market's bullish advance. As of 11:15 a.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was down 94 points to 30,830. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) had fallen 29 points to 3,739, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) had lost another 257 points to 12,464.

However, not all stocks were victims of the ongoing rout among high-growth stocks. In the energy sector, there were several prominent oil stock winners on Friday. Moreover, in the hard-hit retail sector, Gap (NYSE: GPS) had news that sent its shares higher.

The energy sector performed well on Friday morning, buoyed by more price increases for crude oil. West Texas intermediate jumped almost $2 per barrel, climbing back above $65 per barrel and reaching levels last seen two years ago.

Source Fool.com