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Market Recap: Stocks finish at new highs after jobs data

Dow Jones Newswires ·  Nov 5, 2021 19:38  · Headlines

U.S. stocks rose to fresh highs Friday and posted weekly gains after Labor Department data showed job growth rebounded in October following a summer slowdown.

Stocks have climbed to a series of records in recent weeks, bolstered by solid economic data and earnings reports from the biggest U.S. companies. About 82% of S&P 500 companies that have reported results this earnings season have topped analysts' earnings forecasts, according to FactSet data.

Data on the labor market have also been reassuring to investors. Friday's employment report showed the U.S. economy added 531,000 jobs in October, more than the 450,000 jobs that economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected to see. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 4.6% from 4.8% in September.

Friday's jobs report showed the labor market is solid enough for the Fed to justify tapering its monthly asset purchases, said Jay Pestrichelli, CEO of investment firm ZEGA Financial. Some investors have worried throughout the year about how stocks would fare once the Fed begins rolling back the extraordinary levels of support it extended following the pandemic-fueled downturn of early 2020.

"The U.S. equity market can continue to surprise," said Remi Olu-Pitan, a fund manager at Schroders. Ms. Olu-Pitan added that she believes stocks will be able to withstand volatility in short-term bonds, but that the market may become bumpy if yields on 10-year Treasury notes rise next year.

The $S&P 500 index(.SPX.US)$ rose 17.47 points, or 0.4%, to 4697.53 and added 2% for the week, marking its biggest weekly percentage gain since June. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ climbed 203.72 points, or 0.6%, to 36327.95 and advanced 1.4% for the week. The $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ gained 31.28 points, or 0.2%, to 15971.59 and added 3.1% for the week -- its best weekly performance since April.

All three indices notched fresh closing records.

Swings in individual stocks illustrated the diverging fortunes of companies as economies emerge from lockdown.

Shares of $Peloton Interactive(PTON.US)$ slumped $30.42, or 35%, to $55.64 after the maker of fitness equipment reported a slowdown in subscriber growth.

$Airbnb(ABNB.US)$, meanwhile, jumped $23.17, or 13%, to $201.62 after posting record revenue in the third quarter.

$Pfizer(PFE.US)$ said preliminary results indicated its experimental Covid-19 pill was highly effective, lifting the pharmaceutical company's stock $4.76, or 11%, to $48.61. Meanwhile, rival drugmaker $Moderna(MRNA.US)$ slid $47.03, or 17%, to $236.99, extending losses from the prior day. The company's shares began tumbling Thursday after it cut its forecast for Covid-19 vaccine deliveries for the year, citing shipping difficulties.

Overseas, markets were mixed. The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index edged up less than 0.1%, led by gains for retail and telecom stocks.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.4%, China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.6%.

Schroders' Ms. Olu-Pitan said Asian markets have come under pressure due to rising yields in short-term government bonds in the U.S., which have led investors to expect higher dollar borrowing costs in emerging markets.

Write to Joe Wallace at joe.wallace@wsj.com and Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com

Disclaimer: This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of any specific investment or investment strategy. Read more
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