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U.S. stocks opened mixed Friday after a strong October jobs report. If you own stocks or have money in a retirement account, here is how the market moved.
Wall Street opened mixed Friday after a blowout October jobs report showed hiring far stronger than economists expected. The economy added 165,000 jobs last month – nearly triple the roughly 59,000 economists forecast – and the unemployment rate slipped to 4.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The Nasdaq Composite bounced 1.2% to 24,601.93 and the S&P 500 rose 0.38% to 7,381.99 in early trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 449.65 points, or 0.87%, to 51,073.41 as of 9:36 a.m. Eastern.
By 10 a.m. the bounce had broadened: the Nasdaq Composite traded up 1.7% at 24,732.09, the S&P 500 up 0.9% at 7,421.33, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average pared most of its opening loss to trade down 127.38 points, or 0.2%, at 51,395.68 as of 10:01 a.m. Eastern. Figures are intraday snapshots.
Job gains were led by professional and business services with 70,000, followed by health care at 42,000, transportation and warehousing at 25,000 and manufacturing at 19,000. August and September were revised up by a combined 84,000 – August to 186,000 and September to 60,000. Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% on the month and 3.1% from a year ago, and 421,000 people joined the labor force, lifting participation to 61.9%, according to the report’s breakdown.
That strength is exactly what makes the open a split screen. The 10-year Treasury yield rose about 3 basis points to 4.87% as the numbers landed, while traders increased bets on a December rate hike, according to CME FedWatch data cited in the jobs report coverage. The Dow lagged even as growth stocks climbed.
Technology led the upside. Nvidia jumped about 6% to $192.92 in early trading, extending a premarket rebound across chip stocks after Thursday’s rout sent the Nasdaq Composite to its steepest one-day drop in 19 months and confirmed its second correction of the year. The index closed Thursday 11.9% below its October 6 record.
What it means for you: the jobs number is good news for paychecks – hiring tripled expectations, unemployment ticked down, and the civilian labor force expanded by 421,000. The flip side runs through borrowing costs: hot hiring and faster wage growth push Treasury yields up, which is why the 30-year mortgage rate – 7.18% in this week’s Freddie Mac survey, down three weeks running – could face renewed upward pressure if rates rise. For retirement savers, tech-heavy funds are bouncing this morning after yesterday’s selloff.
| Market | Level | Change | As of (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | 51,073.41 | -449.65 (-0.87%) | 9:36 a.m. |
| S&P 500 | 7,381.99 | +28.26 (+0.38%) | 9:36 a.m. |
| Nasdaq Composite | 24,601.93 | +286.94 (+1.18%) | 9:36 a.m. |
| Nvidia | $192.92 | +6.23% | 9:36 a.m. |
| 10-Year Treasury | 4.87% | +3 bps | 9:36 a.m. |
Early reads from market data pages, Friday, Nov. 6. Movers shown in the chart below.
JBizNews Desk | Wall Street
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