Stocks gained Friday after a weaker-than-expected jobs report, fueling hopes that the Fed’s punishing rate hikes have done their job to slow the economy — and inflation along with it. Wall Street is now betting rate hikes are over with, helping all three major indexes end the first trading week of November higher.
For the week, the Dow rose 5.1%. The S&P 500 gained 5.9% and the Nasdaq Composite added 6.6%, both marking their best weekly gains since last November.
All 11 sectors of the S&P 500 ended the week higher.
The market’s rally this week comes after the S&P 500 in October logged its longest streak of monthly declines since 2020, as investors worried about geopolitical strife and that the Federal Reserve would keep rates higher for longer.
Stocks gained Friday after the October jobs report showed that the US economy added 150,000 jobs last month, falling below expectations but still notching a solid month of growth after September’s gangbusters, downwardly-revised total of 297,000 jobs.
Wage growth also moderated, showing some inflationary pressure is easing. Average hourly earnings added seven cents in October from the prior month, or 0.2%, to $34, marking a slower pace than September’s 0.3% gain. Annual wages rose 4.1% last month, the slowest pace since the 3.9% gain in June 2021.
“Slower growth is still growth, and this jobs report is still in the sweet spot. We do see signs, however, that more weakness may be ahead,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network.
Treasury yields continued their slide on Friday, accelerating their cooldown from earlier this week after the Fed held interest rates steady for a second consecutive time.
Expedia shares jumped 18.8% after the company reported an earnings beat for the third quarter.
Paramount Global shares added 15.4% after the company beat earnings and revenue expectations for its latest quarter.
Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares rose 0.7% ahead of the Warren Buffett-led company’s third-quarter results due Saturday morning.
Apple was an outlier of Friday’s broad-based rally, with shares falling 0.5% after the iPhone maker issued a disappointing sales outlook for the December quarter on Thursday after the close.
The Dow added 222 points, or 0.7%.
The S&P 500 gained 0.9%.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.4%.
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