The Dow jumped more than 500 points on Friday, recouping some losses from the previous session, as Amazon’s strong earnings countered Apple’s weak China sales and investors assessed a significant downside risk. US jobs increase in October,
In recent trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 496 points, or 1.2%, at 42,259.
The S&P 500 gained 0.9% and the Nasdaq gained 1.3%.
All three major indexes remained on track for weekly declines, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq poised for their worst weeks in eight.
Amazon rose 6.5%, on track for its best day since February, as strong retail sales lifted its profit above Wall Street estimates.
Quarterly sales, meanwhile, fell 0.5% despite beating forecasts as investors worried about a decline in China sales.
Equity markets largely ignored October’s weak nonfarm payrolls data, given the disruptions from the hurricane and strikes.
The data showed an increase of 12,000 jobs, well short of economists’ estimate of a 113,000 increase.
However, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1%, reassuring investors that the labor market is in strong shape ahead of the presidential election.
“It doesn’t really change much from the Fed’s perspective in terms of expectations or views about a slowing economy,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist at Allianz Investment Management.
After the release of the data, investors remained largely on the central bank’s bets Rates cut by 25 basis points in November and December,
Treasury yields declined after the labor report.
They had risen to near four-month highs in recent weeks, putting pressure on equities.
The US October ISM manufacturing PMI was at 46.5, slightly below the 47.6 forecast.
The November 5 election is on investors’ minds, with many analysts predicting a close race and some uncertainty over the final outcome.
The Fed’s November meeting begins the next day.
Not surprisingly, equity volatility has increased in recent days, with the CBOE Volatility Index trading at its highest level in three weeks, although it is down slightly from Thursday’s nearly two-month high.
“We need to continue to look at whether there is a broader trend of a slowdown in technology spending and productivity coming out of the sector,” Ripley said.
Intel jumped 5.4% after a better-than-expected revenue forecast and lifted other chip stocks, while Nvidia rose 2.3%.
Oil majors also rose, with Chevron rising 4% after it beat third-quarter profit estimates on higher oil production.
Boeing shares rose 2.4% after a union of striking workers endorsed a better contract proposal, with members expected to vote on Monday.
