Wall Street stocks rebounded Friday from mixed tech earnings and investor jitters less than a week before a neck-and-neck US presidential election.聽
After major indices tumbled Thursday following big drops in Microsoft and Meta, buoyant results from Amazon helped boost the market.
Investors also took the bright side of a weak employment report that showed the US economy added just 12,000 jobs last month, far below expectations in a report that was temporarily distorted by major hurricanes and the Boeing strike.
But on the positive side, the report bolstered the chance that the Fed will reduce interest rates again next week. Futures markets overwhelmingly expect a quarter-point cut.
All three major US indices advanced, led by the tech-rich Nasdaq, which climbed 0.8 per cent.
The Amazon report 鈥榗ountered some of the negativity that was building yesterday on the mega-cap鈥� stocks, said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O鈥橦are.
Analysts expect cautious trading early next week ahead of the US presidential election on Tuesday, with the result possibly delayed for several days.
Oil prices gained following reports that Iran was planning聽a major retaliatory strike on Israel, reviving the market鈥檚 geopolitical fears.
Expectations of a major rate cut by the Fed, like the bumper 50 basis point cut in September, have receded after data showed strong economic growth in the United States and inflation just above the central bank鈥檚 long-term two per cent target.
But the 鈥榣ower-than-expected jobs creation could prompt the Fed to follow through with the widely anticipated 25 basis point cut following their next meeting later next week,鈥� said Mahmoud Alkudsi, senior market analyst at ADSS brokerage.
eToro US investment analyst Bret Kenwell said the October jobs numbers 鈥榮hould keep a December rate cut on the table, too.鈥�
Major European markets closed the day higher.
London gained 0.8聽per cent despite lingering fears of the consequences of the Labour government鈥檚 high-tax, high-spending budget unveiled this week.聽
Britain鈥檚 10-year borrowing rate reached its highest level since November 2023 on Thursday, on fears of a resurgence in inflation.
鈥榃orries continue to swirl about the UK Budget stoking inflation and adding to the debt burden,鈥� said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.聽
Asian markets closed mixed, with Tokyo down more than two per cent as tech shares on the Nikkei were dragged lower following the drop on Wall Street.
Shanghai also ended lower despite a forecast-beating Chinese manufacturing report that boosted hopes for a recovery in the world鈥檚 second-largest聽economy.