US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record closing highs; Lululemon gains, data supports rate cut view

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November nonfarm payrolls above estimates at 227,000

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Ulta Beauty (ULTA) gains after raising annual profit forecast

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Lululemon Athletica (LULU) up following upbeat annual forecast

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Indexes: Dow down 0.3%, S&P 500 up 0.3%, Nasdaq up 0.8%

(Updates close with volume, percentage moves, VIX)

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 rose to record closing highs on Friday following upbeat forecasts from Lululemon Athletica (LULU) and other companies and as U.S. jobs data fueled expectations the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates this month.

The Dow finished lower, as a 5.1% drop in UnitedHealth Group (UNH) shares weighed on the index.

The S&P 500 consumer discretionary index rose 2.4% to hit an all-time closing high. It led gains among sectors, boosted by Lululemon.

Shares of Lululemon Athletica (LULU) jumped 15.9% after the sportswear maker increased full-year forecasts.

Also in the consumer discretionary space, shares of cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty (ULTA) advanced 9% after the company raised its annual profit forecast.

The U.S. Labor Department report showed job growth surged in November, but an increase in the unemployment rate to 4.2% pointed to an easing labor market.

"It does support the case for the Fed to continue to cut rates in the December meeting and into the first quarter," said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Billings, Montana.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 123.19 points, or 0.28%, to 44,642.52, the S&P 500 gained 15.16 points, or 0.25%, to 6,090.27 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 159.05 points, or 0.81%, to 19,859.77.

The S&P 500 registered its 57th record closing high for 2024, while the Nasdaq Composite posted its 36th record high close for the year.

For the week, the Nasdaq gained 3.3%, the S&P 500 rose about 1% and the Dow fell 0.6%.

Following the data, U.S. rate futures were pricing in roughly a 90% chance the Fed will lower interest rates by 25 basis points at its Dec. 17-18 policy meeting, according to LSEG calculations which previously saw just a 72% chance.

The Fed has lowered rates by 75 basis points since September, when it launched its easing cycle.

Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said inflation risks remained, which augured caution with rate decisions.

Shares of health insurance companies including UnitedHealth (UNH) extended declines from the previous session, two days after Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealth's (UNH) health insurance unit, was fatally shot outside a Manhattan hotel.

The shooter remained at large and his motive has not been determined. The death sparked comments on social media over frustrations with the U.S. health insurance system.

Among other stock moves, shares of Facebook-owner Meta Platforms (META) were up 2.4% after a U.S. appeals court upheld a law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest its popular short video app TikTok by early next year or face a ban.

The Cboe Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, ended down 0.77 points at 12.77 in its lowest finish since mid-July.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.01-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 354 new highs and 98 new lows on the NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, 2,610 stocks rose and 1,678 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.56-to-1 ratio.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 12.99 billion shares, compared with the 14.5 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; Additional reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and David Gregorio)