After a period of indecision in the preceding trading sessions, stocks are poised for a significant upward trend at the start of Friday's session. The major index futures suggest an optimistic opening, with S&P 500 futures advancing by 0.7%.
This positive trajectory was bolstered following a widely anticipated Labor Department report, which revealed a remarkable surge in job growth for September, far exceeding expectations.
According to the Labor Department, non-farm payroll employment soared by 254,000 jobs in September, building on an upwardly revised increase of 159,000 jobs in August. Initially, economists had predicted a rise of only 140,000 jobs compared to the preliminary estimate of 142,000 jobs for the previous month.
The report also indicated a slight decline in the unemployment rate, which fell to 4.1% in September from 4.2% in August. Contrary to expectations of stability, this drop was unexpected by economists.
The unexpectedly robust job growth might alleviate some worries about the economic forecast; however, it could temper the optimism that the Federal Reserve will continue its aggressive pursuit of interest rate cuts in the months ahead.
In light of the employment data, CME Group's FedWatch Tool now shows a 91.2% probability that the Fed will reduce rates by a quarter percentage point in November, and only an 8.8% likelihood of an additional half percentage point cut.
Following a subdued performance on Wednesday, stocks experienced continued volatility on Thursday, with major averages fluctuating around the neutral line throughout the day.
Ultimately, the major averages concluded the session with modest losses. The Nasdaq slightly declined by 6.65 points, less than 0.1%, settling at 17,918.48. The S&P 500 decreased by 9.60 points or 0.2%, closing at 5,699.94, while the Dow fell by 184.93 points or 0.4%, ending at 42,011.59.
In international markets, the Asia-Pacific region displayed a mixed performance once more on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index increased by 0.2%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 2.8%, whereas Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index decreased by 0.7%.
European markets also presented a mixed picture. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dropped by 0.3%, while the German DAX Index saw an uptick of 0.5%, and France's CAC 40 Index rose by 0.8%.
In commodity markets, crude oil futures are rising by $0.50, reaching $74.21 per barrel, after climbing by $3.61 to $73.71 per barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, gold futures, which increased by $9.50 to $2,679.20 an ounce in the prior session, are currently down $16.40 to $2,662.80 an ounce.
On the currency market, the U.S. dollar trades at 148.43 yen, up from 146.93 yen at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Compared to the euro, the dollar is now valued at $1.0965, a decrease from yesterday's $1.1013.
