As of Friday, major U.S. index futures point towards a positive open, suggesting a continuation of the significant market rebound observed during the previous session. This upward trend may be spurred by a positive response to quarterly earnings reports from Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, and online retail heavyweight, Amazon.
Meta's shares have seen a pre-market increase of 16.8 percent following better than expected Q4 results, the announcement of its first-ever quarterly dividend, and the authorization of a $50 billion share buyback. Furthermore, Amazon’s shares surged by 6.8 percent in the pre-market period on the back of Q4 results that exceeded analysts’ revenue and earnings estimates.
Contrarily, Apple's shares have declined by 3.4 percent in pre-market trading following their announcement of robust fiscal Q1 earnings. However, their guidance for the current quarter hints at a prospective sluggish performance of iPhone sales.
Moreover, The Labor Department released a report indicating robust job growth in January, surpassing economists' predictions. The report reveals that non-farm payroll employment surged by 353,000 jobs in January, compared to the estimated increase of 180,000 jobs. Job growth in November and December were also revised upwards, reflecting a net upward revision of 126,000 jobs.
The substantial job growth observed in January was partly due to the increased employment in the healthcare and social assistance sector, experiencing a spike by 100,400 jobs. Other sectors witnessing growth include professional and business services and retail, while mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industries experienced a contraction.
Notwithstanding, the unemployment rate for January remained unchanged from the previous month at 3.7 percent, confounding economists' expectations of an incremental increase to 3.8 percent.
Moving forward, these data may compound anxieties about the future course of interest rates, especially after the Federal Reserve indicated that a cut in the rate in March is unlikely.
Despite the selloff seen in Wednesday's session, the stock market displayed a strong reversion on Thursday, with the major averages fluctuating early but trending positively as the day progressed. This recovery may be attributed to the market's optimism, as some traders perceived the earlier selloff as an opportunity to buy in expectation of a resumption of the upward trend.
Though the Federal Reserve's hint at a non-cut in March has contributed to Wednesday's nosedive, economists maintain that it's a matter of "when, not if" the central bank will eventually lower rates.
On a final note, treasury yields continued to decrease, which might have contributed to the buying interest. The benchmark ten-year note fell to its lowest levels in over a month.Gold stocks demonstrated a significant increase, which propelled the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.8 percent. This surge in gold stocks was in line with a marginal increase in the cost of the gold.
Additionally, computer hardware stocks witnessed significant strength, as highlighted by the 2.7 percent rise in the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. Retail, airline, and housing markets also saw sturdy increases, while banking stocks experienced considerable weakness, causing the KBW Bank Index to fall by 1.7 percent.
In the commodity and currency markets, crude oil futures went down by $0.59 to $73.23 a barrel. Meanwhile, gold futures which had previously risen by $3.70 to $2,071.10 an ounce, dropped by $17.40 to $2,053.70 an ounce. On the currency front, the U.S. dollar was trading at 147.66 yen, and against the euro, it was valued at $1.0818.
Asian markets advanced, given promising results from Meta and Amazon. Apple's strong fiscal first-quarter results were also a factor, despite failing to meet Wall Street's expectations for its Chinese sales.
Chinese shares fell sharply even with the government's assurance of more fiscal stimulus to boost the economy in the wake of a worsening property slump. Japan's shares saw modest gains especially in chip-related stocks, but Aozora Bank's shares plummeted after predicting its first annual net loss in 15 years.
South Korean stocks soared after data revealed an increase in exports for the fourth consecutive month and a slower pace of consumer inflation. Australian markets also rallied with hopes of the Reserve Bank of Australia retaining the current rates.
European stocks rose after the Bank of England indicated it would likely reduce borrowing costs for the first time since last year. French industrial production notably outperformed expectations with a 1.1 percent growth.
Notable stock movements included Husqvarna, which reported a smaller than expected loss for the first quarter, and Adidas, which plans to sell off remaining stock from its discontinued Yeezy collaboration with Kanye West. Conversely, home appliances maker Electrolux suffered a significant blow with its net loss more than tripling in 2023.The U.S. Labor Department unveiled a report this Friday indicating a significant surge in U.S. employment for January, exceeding predictions. The non-farm payroll employment saw a spike of 353,000 jobs, a significant leap compared to the anticipated increase of around 180,000 jobs.
Furthermore, job growth for November and December was revised upwards to 182,000 and 333,000 jobs respectively, a net increase of 126,000 jobs. This reflected the considerable job growth in January, particularly in the healthcare and social assistance sector which rose by 100,400 jobs. Additionally, the professional/business services and retail sectors experienced significant growth, whereas the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industries saw a decline.
The Labor Department also reported that the unemployment rate for January remained steady at 3.7 percent, contradicting economists' predictions of a slight rise to 3.8 percent.
At 10 am ET, the University of Michigan is due to unveil its revised data on consumer sentiment for January. It's expected that the consumer sentiment index for January will remain the same as the preliminary reading of 78.8, a leap from 69.7 in December.
Simultaneously, the Commerce Department is set to release its December report on new orders for manufactured goods at 10 am ET. It's projected that factory orders will climb by 0.2 percent in December, following a 2.6 percent surge in November.
In market news, Deckers Brands' shares are proposed to have a significant boost in pre-market trading after the footwear designer and distributor reported Q3 results that surpassed analysts' predictions in terms of both profits and revenue.
Similarly, consumer products manufacturer Clorox is experiencing substantial pre-market strength following the company reporting Q2 results that exceeded expectations.
On the other hand, Skechers' shares are anticipated to face high selling pressure after the sneaker manufacturer reported Q4 results that were a mixed bag and provided an unenthusiastic forecast for the upcoming year.
Lastly, Microchip Technology, a semiconductor firm, is also speculated to experience a decline, despite reporting Q3 earnings that surpassed expectations. This is attributed to their predictions for Q4 earnings falling below analysts' estimates.
