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Today’s Stock Market: US Stock Market Rise After September Jobs Report

Posted on by darion

  • U.S. stocks rose after the September jobs report beat expectations and added 254,000 jobs.
  • Economists predicted the creation of 150,000 jobs; unemployment dropped to 4.1% from 4.2%.
  • Wage growth has made a comeback, with average hourly earnings increasing by 0.4% month-on-month.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday after the September jobs report beat economists’ estimates.

The U.S. economy added 254,000 jobs last month, well above economists’ estimates of 150,000 jobs. Strong job growth caused the unemployment rate to drop to 4.1% from 4.2%.

According to ING chief economist James Knightley, the jobs report was “unequivocally strong.”

“On its face, the Fed should be raising rates based on this kind of data, not lowering them,” Knightley said in a note Friday.

To that end, futures markets see little chance that the Federal Reserve will make another 50 basis point rate cut at the November FOMC meeting.

The odds of a 50-basis-point cut dropped to 10% after the jobs report, down from 53% last week, according to CME FedWatch Tool.

Another strong aspect of the jobs report was wage growth, according to Capital Economics.

There also appears to be a mini-resurgence in wage growth, with average hourly earnings rising 0.4% m/m, enough to push the annual growth rate to 4.0%, the highest level in five months.

“There also looks to be something of a mini-resurgence in wage growth, with average hourly earnings rising 0.4% m/m, which was enough to lift the annual growth rate to 4.0%, the highest level in five months,” Capital – said Paul Ashworth of economics.

Here’s where the U.S. indexes stood shortly after the opening bell at 9:30 a.m. on Friday:

Here’s what else is happening:

For commodities, bonds and cryptocurrencies:

  • West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.83% to $74.32 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 0.81% to $78.25 a barrel.
  • Gold fell 0.41% to $2,668.10 an ounce.
  • The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds was 11 basis points higher and amounted to 3.963%.
  • Bitcoin rose 1.31% to $61,544.