Stocks Rose as Dip Buyers Fueled a Rebound – US Market Wrap

Stocks rallied late in the week, with traders focussing on Corporate America’s strength rather than noisy economic data and uncertainty about one of the most closely contested elections in US history.

The S&P 500 reversed a two-day slide following strong signals from industry bellwethers. Tech megacaps, which had borne the brunt of recent selling, led gains on Friday. Amazon rose 6.2% following strong results. Intel gained 7.8% on a bullish outlook. Exxon Mobil and Chevron outperformed profit, output, and sales forecasts. Boeing rose 3.5% on hopes that a lengthy strike is coming to an end. Apple fell 1.2% following a downbeat forecast.

Wall Street tried not to read too much into data showing that US hiring increased at its slowest rate since 2020 in October, while the unemployment rate remained low. The figures were distorted by severe hurricanes and a major strike. The jobs report is the final major data point before next week’s Federal Reserve meeting and the November 5 presidential election.

The S&P 500 gained 0.4%, reversing this week’s losses. The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%. A gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps gained 1.1%.

Treasury yields rose, reversing earlier declines. Traders remained confident that policymakers would cut interest rates by a quarter point on November 7 and again on December 18, with 44 basis points expected by the end of the year. They forecast less than 60 basis points of cumulative easing by the end of January, implying that officials may pause early next year.

Treasury 10-year yields rose nine basis points, to 4.37%. The dollar rose. Oil edged higher on reports that Iran may be preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, but crude ended the week lower due to concerns that the war will disrupt supplies.