Energy Companies Show Their Fiscal Strength – Europe Market Wrap

Stocks rose ahead of Friday’s key US jobs data, at the end of a volatile week in which mixed earnings from tech megacaps had the market on the defensive. Oil gained amid renewed tension in the Middle East.

Amazon and Intel shares surged in premarket trading on optimistic earnings results, while Apple declined after reporting softer demand in China. Futures on the S&P 500 edged higher, with the benchmark on track for its worst weekly performance in more than a year amid unease over the outlook for artificial intelligence and cloud computing following results from Microsoft and Meta.

Today’s payrolls report could show job growth weakening, after an inflation measure favored by the Federal Reserve yesterday posted its biggest monthly gain since April. That muddied the water ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting, with the swaps market pricing in 20 basis points of easing, down from 24 at the start of the week.

Investors are also bracing for next week’s US election, with the CBOE Volatility Index rising to levels last seen during the August market upheaval.