Stock Market News: Nasdaq Rebounding as Focus Shifts to Jobs Data
The World Series of Big Tech earnings is over–but don’t take a breather just yet.
iPhone maker Apple and online retailer Amazon posted their quarterly results late Thursday, bringing an end to a week when five of the so-called Magnificent Seven group reported. At first glance, the earnings look like a mixed bag–while Amazon beat Wall Street’s forecasts, Apple just about topped estimates but issued weaker-than-expected guidance for the current quarter.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had plunged 2.8% on Thursday in a brutal selloff sparked by rising AI expenses, but futures tied to the index pointed to a rebound on Friday, rising 0.4%. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.3% a day after the benchmark gauge snapped a five-month winning streak, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 61 points, or 0.2% .
There will likely be no let up for markets on Friday despite the relative lack of action in benchmark index futures. That’s because the Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release its nonfarm payrolls report for October, which will give investors a sense of how the jobs market held up in a month when hurricanes and a Boeing workers strike both caused temporary disruptions.
The report “is the last important economic indicator before the Federal Reserve meets again,” said Vanguard global chief economist Joe Davis, referring to the central bank’s next meeting, set to end next Thursday. “Despite disruptions from Hurricane Helene and the Boeing strike, we expect the labor market remains on strong footing.”
Oil prices were rising after Axios reported that Iran was planning another attack on Israel, which likely drove up anxiety about supply disruptions. The Brent international benchmark climbed 1.9% to $74.17 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude prices rose 2.1% to $70.69 a barrel.
Bond yields were largely unchanged over the past 24 hours. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note was 4.277%, and the 2-year note was yielding 4.179%.