Stocks climb after jobs report's biggest beat, unemployment rate falls

Stocks rose on Friday afternoon as investors welcomed a key monthly jobs report that showed hiring in the U.S. economy remained strong. The Middle East crisis and the return to work at American ports received much attention.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added less than 0.3%, making big gains right after the open. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) rose 0.6%.

The September jobs report largely beat expectations as the US economy added 254,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. All together, the report shows that the labor market remains robust, even amid signs of cooling. Yahoo Finance’s Josh Schafer provides more details on the report here.

The jobs report shifted forecasts toward a smaller interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve next month. More than 90% of bets are on a 25 basis point cut, versus a larger 50 basis point cut. CME FedWatch tool.

Read More: What Fed Cuts Mean for Bank Accounts, CDs, Loans and Credit Cards

As markets have shown some resilience in the face of a tough week of worrying headlines, stocks are looking to recover from weekly losses. The S&P 500 and Dow were up 1% or less at Thursday’s close.

In recent days, a major ports strike, the devastation of Hurricane Helen and the prospect of a wider Middle East conflict have brought the potential to raise prices and fan inflation.

In a welcome move, the US dockworkers’ strike ended after a tentative wage deal was agreed late Thursday, although some issues remain to be resolved later this year.

On the downside, Israel’s barrage of strikes on Beirut revived Middle East concerns that pushed up oil prices. Western leaders warned of an “uncontrollable escalation” as investors waited to see if Israel would attack Iran’s oil facilities – something President Biden said was under debate.

Oil is on track for its biggest weekly gain in a year as tensions rise. Brent crude ( BZ=F ) and West Texas Intermediate ( CL=F ) futures rose about 1% on Friday, coming off a 5% gain earlier in the day.

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Friday, October 4, 2024 at 9:30 am PDT

Shares rise in afternoon trade

Fears that the Federal Reserve may have been too slow to cut interest rates were calmed on Friday after a September jobs report indicated that hiring in the US economy remained strong.

Data from Bureau of Labor Statistics The labor market added 254,000 payrolls in September, more than the 150,000 expected by economists. And the unemployment rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2% in August.

The strong jobs data appeared to confirm Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s observations that the economy was in “solid shape” and bolstered his argument that the central bank is in no rush to cut interest rates.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up about 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added 0.3%, making big gains right after the open. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) rose 0.6%.
Fri, Oct 4, 2024 at 9:11 am PDT

Boeing stock saw a brief respite after Lockheed’s successful rocket launch

Shares of Boeing ( BA ) rose as much as 1.4% on Friday after a joint venture between Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) and United Launch Alliance. It successfully completed the second launch of its new Vulcan rocket.

Boeing and Lockheed Competing against Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Become a US government contractor for national defense space missions. The US Space Force recently selected three companies are vying for contracts worth $5.6 billion Between 2025 and 2029. United Launch Alliance has a contract with the U.S. Space Force for its second phase of the program, which runs through 2027. Worth $4.5 billion. ULA will use Vulcan Two space defense missions In 2025.

Lockheed shares were flat on Friday. Boeing shares pared early gains at midday.

Boeing shares fell more than 40% in January as the company dealt with the fallout from its door plug plug-out failure. Security issues And countless production delays have plagued the aircraft manufacturer problems. 33,000 Boeing workers recently He went on strikeSeeking competitive pay and benefits.
Friday, October 4, 2024 at 8:30 am PDT

Tesla’s highly anticipated Robotaxis event is coming up next week

Investors longing for validation that Tesla isn’t just a car company will get a reality check on Thursday, when the electric automaker plans to unveil its ambitious robo-taxi concept vehicle.

For months, CEO Elon Musk has talked about his expanded vision for Tesla, which he sees as a platform for advanced AI technology rather than a seller of vehicles. Musk described the robo-taxi initiative as a major development in autonomous ridesharing. Tesla will offer driverless vehicles for users to summon for transportation needs.

The concept’s debut was originally scheduled for August but was delayed to October 10.

Tesla bull Don Ives sees the event as a defining moment for the company.

“We believe that Robotaxis Day will be an important and historic day for Musk and Tesla, and marks a new chapter in the development of the future of autonomy, FSD and AI at Tesla. We continue to believe that Tesla is the most underrated AI name in the market. At next week’s event, Musk & Co. Some ‘game-changing’ autonomous technology to be released.”
Friday, October 4, 2024 at 8:00 am PDT

Spirit Airlines shares fall 25%, other airlines rise amid bankruptcy reports

Shares of Spirit Airlines ( SAVE ) fell on Friday following reports from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

The Journal said late Thursday Spirit is in talks with bondholders On top of potential bankruptcy filing terms. Bloomberg reported Friday that efforts to reach a rescue deal with bondholders to restructure Spirit’s debt have stalled.

Shares of Spirit have fallen nearly 90% since the start of the year, falling sharply after the federal judge JetBlue blocked its merger with Airways (JBLU) on antitrust concerns. The carrier reported a loss of $193 million in its latest quarterly earnings report.

As Spirit’s shares fell to an all-time low of $1.40, other airlines saw their share prices rise. JetBlue shares rose more than 15% on Friday. Shares of Frontier Airlines ( ULCC ) rose 21%. Shares of Delta Air Lines ( DAL ), American Airlines ( AAL ) and United Airlines ( UAL ) rose in the low single digits.
Friday, October 4, 2024 at 7:15 am PDT

Stocks trending in morning trade

Here are some of the leading stocks on Yahoo Finance’s Trending Tickers page during Friday morning trading:

Rivian (RIVN): Shares of the electric vehicle maker fell 7% on Friday morning after the company cut its production forecast for the year and lowered supply expectations due to growth in demand and parts shortages.

Spirit Airlines (Save): The budget carrier fell nearly 25% on Friday after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company is in discussions with bondholders about a bankruptcy filing following its failure with JetBlue ( JBLU ).

meta (Meta): The social media company rose 0.5% after announcing it had developed a new artificial intelligence model to rival OpenAI, which can generate video and audio based on users’ stimuli. Called Movie General, the model will allow users to edit existing videos with text inputs. According to A company blog post.

CVS (CVS): Shares of the pharmacy chain rose nearly 3% following an upgrade from TD Cowen. Its analysts upgraded the stock from a hold to a buy, citing changes to its Medicaid plan through 2025 that CVS announced earlier this week.
Friday, October 4, 2024 at 6:35 am PDT

Stocks rise after massive jobs report

Investors welcomed a more encouraging jobs report on Friday that showed hiring in the U.S. economy was strong.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added roughly 0.6%. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) rose 1.1%.

The labor market added 254,000 payrolls in September, more than the 150,000 economists had expected. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2% in August.
Fri, Oct 4, 2024 at 6:07 am PDT

Markets move to price on lower Fed easing after strong jobs report

A stronger-than-expected September jobs report has tipped markets on fewer interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in 2024.

Following the report, markets priced in a 10% chance of a half percentage point cut in interest rates in November, down from a 53% chance seen a week ago. According to the CME FedWatch tool.

Robert Chokin, Citi’s senior global economist, told Yahoo Finance that the better-than-expected jobs report undercuts the “hasty” move the central bank made at its September meeting when it cut interest rates in half. percentage point.

“This puts the central bank out of whack,” he said, adding that it was uncertain whether the central bank would cut 50 basis points again this year.

“Given the labor market strength revealed in September’s employment report, the Fed’s real debate should be about whether to ease monetary policy,” Paul Ashworth, chief North American economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients on Friday. “Any hope [50 basis point] The cut is long overdue.”

Read More: Jobs, Inflation and the Fed: How They’re All Related
Friday, October 4, 2024 at 5:50 am PDT

September jobs report crushes expectations as US economy adds 254,000 jobs, unemployment rate falls to 4.1%

The U.S. labor market added more jobs than expected in September, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell, reflecting a stronger picture of the job market than Wall Street expected.

Data from Bureau of Labor Statistics The labor market released on Friday added 254,000 payrolls in September, which was more than the 150,000 expected by economists.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2% in August. September jobs came on top of the revised 159,000 added in August.

Read more here.