U.S. stocks were rising after a weaker than expected jobs report for October fueled hopes that the Federal Reserve would hold off on further interest rate increases.
At 10:36 ET (14:36 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 117 points or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 was up 0.7% and the NASDAQ Composite was up 0.7%.
Wall Street on course for hefty weekly gains
The main indices on Wall Street posted strong gains on Thursday, and are on course for sizable weekly gains, fueled by renewed hopes that an era of unprecedented monetary tightening may be coming to an end in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged for a second straight meeting.
The blue chip Dow is up 4.4% so far this week, on pace for its next week since October 2022. The broad-based S&P is up 4.9% this week and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 5.2%, both seeking their best weeks since November of last year.
Jobs report cools worries of a Fed hike
The economy added 150,000 jobs in October, less than the 180,000 expected and down from 336,000 in September. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 3.9% from 3.8%, while average hourly earnings rose 0.2%, below expectations.
Traders are on the lookout for any signs of resilience in the labor market, a trend that could give the Fed more headroom to hike interest rates once again.
Chair Jerome Powell left room for another rate increase before the end of the year on Wednesday, but the market now widely expects the Fed will leave rates alone in December.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) disappoints with holiday quarter forecast
In the corporate sector, Apple stock has slipped 1.1% after the tech giant predicted quarterly sales that were below market estimates, blaming weak demand for iPads and wearables, especially in the key market of China.
The California company flagged that revenue in its December quarter — typically one of its largest due to holiday shopping — would be in line with the corresponding time frame last year. However, the quarter will be one week shorter.
Burger King and Tim Horton’s parent Restaurant Brands (NYSE:QSR) beat expectations on profit but missed on revenue, and same store sales for Burger King were lower than expected. Shares fell 4%. Movie theater operator Cinemark (NYSE:CNK) beat expectations as revenue rose more than 34%. Shares fell more than 2%.
Oil set for hefty weekly loss
Oil prices edged higher Friday, adding to the previous session’s sharp gains after traders became increasingly confident that the Federal Reserve was done with its run of interest rate hikes, hitting the dollar.
Both benchmarks gained more than $2 a barrel on Thursday, but were set to lose more than 3% over the week, their second consecutive losing week, as a lack of escalation in the Israel-Hamas war removed worries about disruptions to supply in this oil-rich region.
Meanwhile, recent data out of China has underscored the uncertain demand outlook in the world’s top importer.
(Peter Nurse and Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)
https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/dow-futures-trade-steady-apple-slips-29-after-earnings-3220328
