U.S. stocks rise as investors assess jobs report
Nov 05, 2022
New York [US], November 5: U.S. equities rallied on Friday, as Wall Street digested the October jobs report, assessing its implications to the Federal Reserve's future policy path.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 401.97 points, or 1.26 percent, to 32,403.22. The S&P 500 rose 50.66 points, or 1.36 percent, to 3,770.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 132.31 points, or 1.28 percent, to 10,475.25.
All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with materials and financials up 3.41 percent and 1.87 percent, respectively, leading the gains.
The market rally came after the latest U.S. jobs report painted a mixed picture.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. employers added 261,000 jobs in October. While the reading topped market expectations, it marked the slowest pace of job gains since December 2020.
The unemployment rate rose to 3.7 percent from 3.5 percent in September, above the consensus estimate of 3.6 percent.
"The latest jobs report will not likely change the current path of Fed tightening, since current inflation pressures have not convincingly eased enough for policy makers, but it will reassure them that they are on the right (but narrow) path toward a 'soft landing,'" George Smith, analyst at LPL Financial, said in a note.
Despite Friday's gains, U.S. equities suffered losses for the week amid hawkish Fed stance. The Fed on Wednesday raised benchmark interest rates by 75 basis points for the fourth consecutive meeting, and warned it still had "some ways to go" in its efforts to tame inflation.
For the week, the Dow slipped 1.4 percent, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 3.35 percent and 5.65 percent, respectively.
Source: Xinhua
