October saw job growth slow to its weakest pace since late 2020
Fresh off monthly losses, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are up triple digits, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures sit higher as well. Investors are parsing through the latest employment report, which showed job growth slowed at its weakest pace since late 2020 after just 12,000 nonfarm payrolls were added in October -- far below estimates of 100,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate was in line with estimates after holding at 4.1%.
Traders are also digesting a batch of tech earnings. Elsewhere, oil prices are paring weekly losses, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude up more than $1 per barrel amid reports that Iran is prepared to launch a retaliatory attack on Israel.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Minimize your risk when trading around the election.
- 2 contrarian stocks to keep an eye on.
- Plus, 2 Big Tech giants' quarterly results, and Intel's sunny earnings forecast.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw nearly 2.2 million call contracts and more than 1.3 million put contracts exchanged on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio stayed at 0.63 and the 21-day moving average rose to 0.63.
- Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is 1.7% lower before the open. The Big Tech giant reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations on record-breaking revenue, but issued a gloomy forecast for the holiday quarter. In addition, iPhone revenue for the quarter beat expectations, while revenue in China saw a slight year-over-year dip. Since the start of the year, the equity is up 17.3%.
- Another Big Tech staple, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), also stepped into the earnings confessional, where it reported earnings per share and net sales that trounced expectations. Capital spending rose during the quarter, and the company expected it to keep building as it enhances its artificial-intelligence (AI) services. Up 7.4% before the bell, AMZN already sported a 36.1% year-over-year gain.
- Shares of semiconductor manufacturer Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) are up 6.2% in premarket trading following earnings. While the chip-maker posted a net loss for the third quarter, it issued a better-than-expected earnings forecast for the fourth quarter. Coming into today, INTC was down 57.2% since the start of 2024.
- The U.S. Presidential Election and an interest rate decision are ahead.
Investors React to China's PMI Reading, U.K.'s Budget Plan
Asian markets finished mostly lower on Friday, though the Hang Seng in Hong Kong managed a 0.9% win. The Shanghai Composite shed 0.2%, despite China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reading coming in at 50.3, above the 50-mark representing expansion and economists’ median estimate of 49.7. As investors monitor Japan’s plans for economic relief, Krishna Srinivasan, director at the International Monetary Fund’s Asia and Pacific Department, told Reuters that Japan should finance spending plans within the existing budget rather than issue new debt. Japan’s Nikkei dropped 2.6% today, while the South Korean Kospi shed 0.5%.
European bourses, on the other hand, are higher today, with help from oil and gas stocks. London’s FTSE 100 is up 1% at last glance, after the U.K. government unveiled a budget plan featuring $51.8 billion worth of tax hikes. The French CAC 40 and German DAX are rising 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively, as traders eye the U.S. ahead of the upcoming Presidential election.