4:05pm: Nasdaq gains
The three major US stock indexes finished the week on a positive note driven by strong employment data.
The Nasdaq added 1.2% at 18,137 points, the S&P 500 added 0.9% at 5,751 points and the Dow Jones was up 0.8% at 42,352 points.
1:22pm: Stocks push higher
Stronger-than-expected US employment data continued to propel stocks in the early afternoon on Friday.
The Nasdaq added 0.9% at 18,072 points, the S&P 500 was up 0.6% at 5,733 points and the Dow Jones added 0.5% at 42,235 points.
"The US experienced a significant boost in job creation for September, surpassing both the previous month's figures and market expectations,” IG senior technical analyst Axel Rudolph commented.
“These encouraging economic indicators helped alleviate concerns about a potential slowdown in the US economy and reinforced confidence in the Federal Reserve's ability to achieve a 'soft landing' for the economy. "
11:07am: Economy strong, report shows
Friday’s payrolls report supports a strong economy, XTB research director Kathleen Brooks highlighted.
The details of the report are notable, she added.
“The monthly rise of 254,000 is significantly higher than the average monthly gain for the last 12 months, which is 203,000,” Brooks said.
“There were strong gains in employment for hospitality, healthcare, government, social care and in construction. Other sectors including oil and gas, mining, education and professional services saw little change in jobs last month. Thus, there is little sign of any weakness in the US labour market at the end of Q3.”
Brooks sees the report supporting the Fed’s decision to cut interest rates by 50bps last month, as it is evidence of a soft economic landing for the US economy.
“A strong employment situation in the US, coupled with moderating inflation is a goldilocks scenario for the US economy as we move towards Q4, and we think that this should be positive for equities, which have been hamstrung in recent days due to elevated levels of geopolitical risk aversion,” she said.
9.42am: Wall Street surges at open
Wall Street enjoyed a strong start to Friday after job market data came in far better than expected earlier on.
The Nasdaq jumped 1.2% at the open, while the S&P 500 added 0.8% and Dow Jones ticked up by 0.6%.
Non-farm payroll figures appeared to calm any nerves over a recession in the world’s largest economy, as they showed 254,000 jobs were added last month against expectations for 147,000.
Unemployment also scaled back to 4.1%, with markets having been expecting the rate to remain at 4.2%.
9.28am: US rate cut expectations wound down as job market fears ease
Expectations for another hefty cut to base interest by the Federal Reserve have been wound down after the US economy added more jobs than expected in September.
Non-farm payroll figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed 254,000 jobs were added across the economy last month, against expectations for 147,000.
Unemployment, which was expected to remain at 4.2%, also beat expectations, having dipped to 4.1%.
Expectations for another 50 basis point cut to base interest in November, following September’s reduction, were swiftly cut as concerns over an impending recession were further removed.
Money markets were pricing in a 6% chance of such a cut at the Fed’s next meeting on Friday following the data, down from 54% just a week ago.
“Looking at the labour market strength evident in September’s employment report, the real debate at the Fed should be about whether to loosen monetary policy at all,” Capital Economics’ Paul Ashworth commented.
“Any hopes of a 50 basis point cut are long gone.
“We continue to expect the Fed to take a more measured approach - cutting rates by 25 basis points at each meeting until the policy rate is down to between 3% and 3.25%.”
9.11am: US adds far more jobs than expected
US non-farm payroll data on Friday showed the US economy added far more jobs than expected last month.
Some 254,000 jobs were added in September, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, against expectations for 147,000.
Unemployment, which was anticipated to remain at 4.2%, also beat expectations, coming in at 4.1% over the month.
The figures are set to reassure over the prospect of a looming recession in the US, after markets previously mulled over whether the Federal Reserve had left it too late to cut interest rates.
Futures had the Nasdaq climbing 1.3% following the data, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 also set to surge.
7.14am: Stocks seen higher ahead of jobs data
Wall Street was in line for a positive start on Friday ahead of a heavy day of job market data, inducing non-farm payroll and unemployment figures.
Futures had the Nasdaq adding 0.3% at the open, while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 also looked to gain.
Both unemployment and non-farm payroll figures on Friday come as traders eye further reassurance over the health of the economy while the Federal Reserve looks to bring down interest rates.
“Traders [are] looking out for a degree of stability after recent speculation that a surge in unemployment could form the basis of an impending US recession,” Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony commented.
He noted expectations were for unemployment to have remained at 4.2% last month, with the non-farm payroll figure showing 147,000 jobs being added to the economy.
Worse-than-expected non-farm payroll figures in August had sent stock markets globally into freefall as fears of a US recession built, with data more recently appearing to have calmed nerves.