U.S. stock markets witnessed a robust rally on Friday, primarily driven by the technology sector, as investors reacted to a jobs report indicating broad employment gains in the United States for September, alongside a notable slowdown in wage growth.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq experienced their most substantial daily percentage gains since late August, with the S&P 500 breaking a four-week losing streak and finishing the week on a positive note.
Leading the charge were stocks in the information technology sector, closely followed by those in communication services.
Initially, markets experienced a slight dip in response to the jobs data, which revealed a substantial increase in U.S. employment for September—the most significant jump in eight months. However, equities began to recover their footing by late morning.
Robert Pavlik, Senior Portfolio Manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut, commented on the market’s performance, stating, “You have an economy that’s slowing, but not faltering, and you have a Federal Reserve on the sidelines.” He also noted that the S&P 500 appeared to rebound as it approached its 200-day moving average, currently situated at around 4,208.
Market observers have been speculating on whether the Federal Reserve might halt its interest rate hikes in response to a recent surge in long-term U.S. Treasury yields. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields reached 16-year highs during Friday’s trading.
The day’s data also indicated a moderation in wages, potentially attributed to the fact that a majority of the jobs added last month were in lower-paying industries.
In terms of index performance, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged by 288.01 points, or 0.87%, closing at 33,407.58. The S&P 500 gained 50.31 points, or 1.18%, concluding at 4,308.5, while the Nasdaq Composite added 211.51 points, or 1.6%, reaching 13,431.34.
For the week, the S&P 500 notched up a 0.5% gain, while the Dow experienced a marginal 0.3% decline. In contrast, the Nasdaq rose by 1.6%.
These recent gains come after a turbulent September and challenging third quarter for the stock market.
Investors are eagerly awaiting upcoming data releases, including September consumer price inflation and producer price index readings due next week. Additionally, the quarterly earnings season is around the corner, with major banks such as JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) slated to report next week.
On the corporate front, shares of Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) fell by 1.7% following reports that the U.S. oil producer was engaged in advanced talks to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD), which, in contrast, saw its stock surge by 10.4%.
The day’s trading saw a volume of 10.58 billion shares on U.S. exchanges, slightly below the 10.72 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a ratio of 1.96-to-1, while on Nasdaq, a ratio of 1.73-to-1 favored advancers.
Lastly, the S&P 500 reported six new 52-week highs and 52 new lows, with the Nasdaq Composite recording 27 new highs and 260 new lows.
