WALL Street stocks rose on Friday (Nov 1) following strong Amazon earnings and weak US jobs data that was seen as boosting the likelihood of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
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.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7 per cent to 42,052.19.
The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.4 per cent to 5,728.80, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.8 per cent to 18,239.92.
Amazon surged 6.2 per cent after reporting stronger-than-expected results, with significant growth in cloud computing and a return to profitability in its international segment.
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The Amazon earnings helped the market pivot after Thursday’s sell-off prompted by big drops in Microsoft and Meta shares due to concerns about lofty spending needed for artificial intelligence.
The Amazon report “countered some of the negativity that was building yesterday on the mega-cap” stocks, said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.
Analysts expect cautious trading early next week ahead of the US presidential election on Tuesday, with the result possibly delayed for several days.
Among other companies, Boeing jumped 3.6 per cent as striking machinists scheduled another vote next week for the company’s latest contract offer.
The union, which represents some 33,000 Seattle-area workers off the job since mid-September, endorsed the latest proposal, which includes a 38 per cent wage increase.
Intel surged 7.8 per cent despite reporting a whopping US$16.6 billion quarterly loss due largely to one-time non-cash items. The company said its cost-cutting efforts were making progress. AFP
