Stocks rose Friday afternoon as investors cheered a key monthly jobs report that showed employment in the U.S. economy remains strong. The Middle East crisis and the resumption of work at U.S. ports also remained in the spotlight.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose just under 0.5%, with even bigger gains coming soon after. The Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC), which has a high proportion of high-tech stocks, rose 0.9%.
September’s jobs report was much better than expected, as the U.S. economy added 254,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. Overall, the report showed that the labor market remains strong despite signs of cooling. Yahoo Finance’s Josh Schafer has more details on the report here.
The employment report has led to expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) may cut interest rates slightly next month. More than 90% of bets are based on a 25-basis-point cut, rather than a 50-basis-point cut, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Read more: How Fed Rate Cuts Affect Bank Accounts, CDs, Loans, and Credit Cards
Despite a tough week of alarming news, markets are showing some resilience, with stocks attempting to recoup weekly losses. Major indexes were down less than 1% as of Thursday’s close, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average still within striking distance of all-time highs.
In recent days, a major port strike, damage from Hurricane Helen, and the prospect of broader Middle East conflict have raised prices and potentially fueled inflation.
In a welcome move, the US longshoremen’s strike ended late Thursday after a tentative pay deal was agreed, but several issues remain unresolved until later this year.
On the downside, concerns about the Middle East continued, with Israel’s barrage of attacks on Beirut pushing up oil prices. As investors wait to see if Israel attacks Iranian oil facilities, Western leaders warn of “uncontrollable escalation” and President Biden says the attack is under discussion .
Amid rising tensions, oil prices have posted their biggest weekly rise in more than a year. Brent crude oil futures (BZ=F) and West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) futures rose about 1% on Friday, up from a 5% rise the previous day.
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Friday, October 4, 2024 10:52 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time)
Crude oil prices remain near trading highs, marking the fastest weekly increase in more than a year
Oil prices posted their biggest weekly increase in more than a year on Friday on concerns that Israel could target Iranian oil facilities in response to Iran’s recent missile attacks.
West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) was up more than 2% at midday and hovering above $75 a barrel. The international standard price, Brent (BZ=F), rose nearly 2% to trade above $79 per barrel.
U.S. futures are up more than 10% for the week, and Brent crude oil is up more than 9% in the same period.
Friday, October 4, 2024, 10:15 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time)
Hot jobs report won’t change Fed’s interest rate ‘calculation’: Goolsbee
Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger reports:
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsby doesn’t think Friday’s positive jobs report will change the path of lower interest rates over the next 12 to 18 months.
“I don’t think the calculus will change,” he said in an interview with Yahoo Finance.
He added: “If the current situation continues, I think it will drop significantly by the end of 2025.”
Last month, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in more than four years, starting with a massive 50 basis point (bp) rate cut in preparation for a weak labor market.
But new data released Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics instead showed new strength.
Click here for details.
Friday, October 4, 2024 9:30 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time)
Stock prices rise in afternoon trading
Concerns that the Fed was easing policy too late receded after Friday’s September jobs report showed that employment in the U.S. economy remained strong.
Labor market payrolls rose by 254,000 people in September, more than the 150,000 that economists expected, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, down from 4.2% in August.
The strong jobs report appeared to confirm Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s view that the economy is “in good shape” and backed up his assertion that the central bank is in no hurry to cut interest rates.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose about 0.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.3%, with even bigger gains coming soon after. The Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC), which has a high proportion of high-tech stocks, rose 0.6%.
Friday, October 4, 2024, 9:11 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time)
Boeing stock price temporarily recovers after successful rocket launch with Lockheed
Boeing (BA) stock rose just 1.4% on Friday after its joint venture with Lockheed Martin (LMT), United Launch Alliance, successfully launched its new Vulcan rocket for the second time.
Boeing and Lockheed are competing with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to become the U.S. government’s go-to contractor for national security space missions. The U.S. Space Force recently selected three companies to compete for a contract worth $5.6 billion from 2025 to 2029. United Launch Alliance’s contract with the U.S. Space Force for Phase 2 (through 2027) is worth $4.5 billion. ULA plans to use Vulcan for two space security missions in 2025.
Lockheed stock was flat on Friday. Boeing shares fell below their initial midday gains.
Boeing stock has plunged more than 40% as the company grapples with the fallout from January’s door plug debacle. Aircraft manufacturers have been plagued by safety issues and production delays, among other problems. Approximately 33,000 Boeing employees also recently went on strike to demand competitive pay and benefits.
Friday, October 4, 2024, 8:30 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time)
Tesla’s long-awaited robotaxis event will be held next week
Investors desperate for validation that Tesla is more than just a car company will get a reality check Thursday as the electric car maker plans to unveil an ambitious robotaxi concept vehicle. .
CEO Elon Musk has emphasized in recent months that he is expanding his vision for Tesla as more than just a car seller and a platform for advanced AI technology. Musk said the robotaxi initiative is a major development in self-driving ride-sharing. Tesla plans to offer a fleet of driverless vehicles that users can summon to meet their transportation needs.
The concept’s debut was originally scheduled for August, but was postponed to October 10th.
Tesla boss Dan Ives sees this as a defining moment for the company.
“We believe Robotaxis Day will be a seminal and historic day for Mr. Musk and Tesla, marking a new chapter in Tesla’s growth around the future of self-driving, FSD, and AI. We continue to believe and look forward to Tesla being the most underrated AI name on the market.” Musk & Co. plans to unveil several “game-changing” autonomous technologies at this event next week. . ”
Friday, October 4, 2024, 8:00 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time)
Spirit Airlines stock drops 25% amid reports of possible bankruptcy; other airlines rise
Shares of Spirit Airlines (SAVE) fell sharply on Friday following reports in the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg that suggested the low-cost carrier may be nearing bankruptcy.
The newspaper reported late Thursday that Spirit was in talks with bondholders over the terms of a potential bankruptcy filing. Bloomberg reported Friday that Spirit’s efforts to reach a rescue deal with bondholders to restructure its debt and potentially avoid bankruptcy have stalled.
Spirit’s stock price has fallen nearly 90% since the beginning of the year, plunging after a federal judge blocked its merger with JetBlue Airways (JBLU), citing antitrust concerns. The company reported a loss of $193 million in its latest quarterly earnings report.
As Spirit’s stock fell to an all-time low of $1.40, other airlines’ stocks rose as well. JetBlue stock rose more than 15% on Friday. Frontier Airlines (ULCC) stock 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 7:15 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time)
Stock prices rise in morning trading
Below are some of the stocks that topped Yahoo Finance’s trend ticker page during Friday morning trading.
Rivian (RIVN): Shares of the electric vehicle maker fell 7% Friday morning after the company cut its annual production forecast and missed delivery estimates due to slowing demand growth and parts shortages.
Spirit Airlines (SAVE): The low-cost carrier announced Friday after the Wall Street Journal reported that it was in talks with bondholders about a possible bankruptcy filing following its failed merger with JetBlue (JBLU). The company fell nearly 25%.
Meta (META): The social media company rose 0.5% after it announced it has developed a new artificial intelligence model that can generate video and audio based on prompts from users, in competition with OpenAI. This model, called Movie Gen, also allows users to edit existing videos through text input. According to the company’s blog post.
CVS (CVS): The pharmacy chain’s stock rose nearly 3% following an upgrade from TD Cowen. The company’s analysts upgraded the stock from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating, citing changes to CVS’s 2025 Medicare Advantage plan announced earlier this week.
Friday, October 4, 2024, 6:35 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time)
Stock prices rise after big employment report
Investors welcomed Friday’s jobs report as very encouraging, showing that employment in the U.S. economy remains strong.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose about 0.6%. Additionally, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) rose 1.1%.
Labor market payrolls rose by 254,000 people in September, more than the 150,000 expected by economists, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2% in August.
Friday, October 4, 2024 6:07 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time)
Markets are starting to factor in a reduction in Federal Reserve monetary policy following strong employment data
Markets are leaning toward pricing in a smaller rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve in 2024 after September’s employment report was much better than expected.
Following the report, markets are pricing in a roughly 10% chance that the Fed will cut interest rates by 0.5 percentage points in November, down from a 53% chance a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Robert Sockin, senior global economist at Citi, told Yahoo Finance that the Fed will act with the same “urgency” it did at its September meeting, when it cut interest rates by half a quarter after the better-than-expected jobs report. He said it was less likely. Percentage points.
“This puts the Fed in a pretty tight spot,” he said, adding that it’s unclear whether the Fed will cut rates by another 50 basis points this year.
“Given the strength of the labor market evident in the September jobs report, the real debate at the Fed is not to ease monetary policy in the first place,” Paul Ashworth, chief North American economist at Capital Economics, said in a note to clients on Friday. It should be a question of whether or not to do so.” “Hopes for a (50 basis point) rate cut are long gone.”
Read more: Employment, inflation, and the Fed: How they all relate
Friday, October 4, 2024, 5:50 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time)
September employment report shows US economy adding 254,000 jobs, unemployment rate falling to 4.1%, crushing expectations
The U.S. labor market added far more jobs than expected in September, but the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell, reflecting much stronger job market conditions than Wall Street expected.
Labor market payrolls rose by 254,000 people in September, more than the 150,000 that economists expected, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2% in August. The number of new hires in September exceeded August’s revised figure of 159,000.
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