Wall Street’s major indexes climbed on Friday, rebounding from the previous day’s sell-off as Amazon’s strong earnings countered a significant drop in US job growth in October.
In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 339 points, or 0.8%, at 42,102. The blue chip-index had gained more than 500 points.
The S&P 500 added 0.6%, and the Nasdaq gained 0.8%. All three indexes were on track for weekly declines.
Amazon rose 6.4% after it reported earnings on Thursday that revealed strong retail sales, boosting profit above Wall Street estimates.
Meanwhile, Apple dropped 1.6%, the only so-called Magnificent Seven member in the red, as investors worried about a decline in its China sales.
Meta Platforms and Microsoft also reported earnings earlier this week and warned on AI-related infrastructure costs, dragging the Nasdaq down on Thursday.
“A new month frequently seems to offer new optimism for investors – especially after we saw a sharp decline yesterday – and after seeing encouraging results from Apple and Amazon,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
Equity markets brushed off weak October nonfarm payrolls data, given disruptions from hurricanes and strikes. The data showed an increase of 12,000 jobs, much smaller than economists’ estimate of a 113,000 rise.
However, the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, reassuring investors the labor market remained on solid ground ahead of the presidential election on Tuesday.
“Third-quarter earnings, interest rates and the election continue to be the main drivers in the near term,” Stovall said.
After the data was released, investors largely stuck to bets that the central bank would cut rates by 25 basis points in November.
The election is on investors’ minds, with many analysts predicting a close presidential race and some uncertainty over the final outcome. The Fed’s November meeting kicks off the following day.
Intel jumped 6.7% after a better-than-expected revenue forecast.
Chevron rose 2.5% after beating third-quarter profit estimates on higher oil output.