Friday's price action put a cap on what has been a stellar week for stocks. The main indexes scored solid gains today as bad-news-is-good-news jobs data more than offset a negative reaction to Apple's (AAPL) earnings report.
Starting with the monthly payrolls report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning said the U.S. added 150,000 new jobs in October, well below the 170,000 expected by economists. Employment figures for both August and September were revised lower, while the unemployment rate ticked higher to 3.9%. The data also showed that wage growth – a key measure of inflation – slowed in October, to 4.1% annually vs September's 4.3% increase.
"The weaker-than-expected jobs report, the downward revision to the previous month's jobs reports, and the mild increase in the unemployment rate reinforce the market's view that the Federal Reserve’s policy of aggressively raising interest rates is over," says Anthony Denier, CEO of commission-free trading platform Webull.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Also working in the Fed's favor was this morning's release of the Institute for Supply Management's services purchasing managers' index (PMI), which fell to 51.8% in October from September's reading of 53.6%. While the latest figure remains above the 50% level that indicates expansion, it is the second straight month that growth in the services sector has been slower.
The service-related businesses surveyed for the index hinted at employment-related challenges, too, said Anthony Nieves, chair of the Institute for Supply Management Services Business Survey Committee, with respondents commenting on rising labor costs and shortages.
Earlier this week, the Fed paused rate hikes for a second straight meeting. According to CME Group, futures traders are now pricing in a 95% chance the central bank will once again hold rates steady at its next meeting in December – and keep them there until June, when there is currently a 37% chance for a quarter-point rate cut.
Apple drops after earnings, Paramount Global pops
It wasn't all about the economy today, though. Investors also took in a number of high-profile earnings reports, most notably one from Apple. While the tech giant said fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 13.2% year-over-year to $1.46 per share, revenue slipped 0.7% to $89.5 billion – the latter due in part to slower-than-expected sales in China.
This marked the fourth straight quarter that Apple has reported declining revenue and the company forecast weak earnings for its December quarter. As a result, AAPL stock shed 0.5%.
Elsewhere, Paramount Global (PARA) – a member of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway equity portfolio in addition to Apple – surged 15.4% after unveiling its quarterly results. The Showtime parent reported higher-than-expected third-quarter earnings of 30 cents per share on $7.1 billion in revenue. PARA also said Q3 revenue in its direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming division was up 38% year-over-year and that it expects losses in 2023 DTC to be lower than what they were in 2022.
As for the main indexes, the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.4% to 13,478, the S&P 500 gained 0.9% to 4,358, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% to 34,061. All three benchmarks finished with their biggest weekly gains of the year, with the Nasdaq up 6.6%, the S&P 500 5.9% higher and the Dow soaring 5.1%.
Related content
- When Is the Next CPI Report?
- Kiplinger's Earnings Calendar for This Week (Nov. 6-10)
- No, Your Social Security Benefits Aren't Going Away
-
Selling Your Haunted House? What You Have to Tell Buyers (and What You Don’t)You don’t need ghosts to spook buyers, sometimes a home’s past is enough. Here’s what sellers should know about disclosure laws, pricing and perception when a property has a haunted history.
-
CMS Brings Back Furloughed Staff for Open Enrollment LifelineThe government has recalled approximately 3,000 workers to assist with Medicare and ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment.
-
US-China Trade Hopes Send Stocks to New Highs: Stock Market TodayApple and Microsoft are on track to join Nvidia in the $4 trillion market cap club.
-
Dow Adds 472 Points After September CPI: Stock Market TodayIBM and Advanced Micro Devices created tailwinds for the main indexes after scoring a major quantum-computing win.
-
Honeywell Leads Dow Higher: Stock Market TodayOil prices got a lift after the Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies.
-
Dow Beats 334-Point Retreat on Tech Bite: Stock Market TodayInvestors, traders and speculators wonder whether this remains a Magnificent 7 market and how long this AI-driven bull run will last.
-
What the Rich Know About Investing That You Don'tPeople like Warren Buffet become people like Warren Buffet by following basic rules and being disciplined. Here's how to accumulate real wealth.
-
3M, GM, Blue Chips Lead to the Upside: Stock Market TodayThe S&P 500 followed the Dow Jones Industrial Average into green territory, but the Nasdaq lagged the other indexes because of its tech exposure.
-
Dow Adds 516 Points on Broad Optimism: Stock Market TodayEasing trade war tensions and promise from early earnings reports has investors looking on the bright side to start the week.
-
Stocks Rise to End a Volatile Week: Stock Market TodayThe market's fear index reached and retreated from a six-month intraday peak on Friday as stocks closed the week well.
