US stock indices finished higher on Friday after a weaker-than-expected jobs report led investors to scale back expectations for further Federal Reserve tightening. The S&P 500 advanced 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 250 points, and the Nasdaq gained 1% to close at a record high of 30,808.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 29,000 in the latest month, far below the consensus forecast of a 90,000 gain. Payroll figures for the prior two months were also revised lower. Following the data, market-based expectations for additional Fed rate hikes eased.
Oil prices declined, lending support to the bond market and providing an additional tailwind for equities. Credit-sensitive stocks moved higher, and AI-related companies—despite facing record levels of debt issuance—also finished mostly in positive territory. Nvidia climbed 1.3%, Broadcom rose 3.3%, and AMD gained 2.9%. Among the major cloud providers, Alphabet added 1.6%, Amazon advanced 1.3%, and Oracle increased 3.1%.
Tesla jumped 4.6% after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter sales. For the week, the S&P 500 edged up 0.2% and the Nasdaq rose 1.3%, while the Dow shed 319 points.
