By Caroline Valetkevitch
New York (Reuters) – The Dow reached a record closing high on Friday, while the Nasdaq saw a gain of over 1% following a robust jobs report that eased concerns about a weakening economy.
September saw the largest job gains in six months, with the unemployment rate dropping to 4.1%, according to the report.
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York, commented, “The data indicates that economic activity in the fourth quarter is expected to remain strong. This is a positive surprise, but it may also slow down the rate cuts.”
Traders scaled back expectations for a 50-basis-point cut at the Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting, with the likelihood dropping to just 8%, down from 31% earlier in the day.
Small caps and financials outperformed, with the index rising by 1.5% and the financials index by 1.6%.
Spirit Airlines (NYSE:) shares fell by 24.6%, while other airlines surged after reports of potential bankruptcy filing talks. Frontier Group soared by 16.4%, United Airlines by 6.5%, and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:) by 3.8%.
The Dow climbed 341.16 points, or 0.81%, to 42,352.75, the S&P 500 gained 51.13 points, or 0.90%, to 5,751.07, and the Nasdaq added 219.37 points, or 1.22%, to 18,137.85.
Indexes saw modest gains for the week amid concerns over escalating tensions in the Middle East. The Dow was up 0.1%, the S&P 500 up 0.2%, and the Nasdaq up 0.1%.
The S&P energy index rose 1.1% on the day alongside higher oil prices, with a 7% weekly jump – the largest since October 2022 – due to Middle East uncertainties.
President Joe Biden’s comments on potential Israeli actions and ongoing Iran tensions impacted market sentiment.
Rivian (NASDAQ:) shares dipped by 3.2% after the company revised its production forecast and missed third-quarter delivery expectations.
Third-quarter earnings reports for S&P 500 companies are slated to begin next week, with major financial firms like JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:), Wells Fargo, and BlackRock (NYSE:) set to report on Oct. 11.
Investors are optimistic that strong results will justify the market’s high valuations, with the S&P 500 up 20.6% year-to-date.
U.S. ports on the East and Gulf coasts have reopened, but clearing cargo backlogs will take time.
Advancing issues surpassed declining ones on the NYSE by a ratio of 1.72-to-1, and on Nasdaq by 2.20-to-1.
The S&P 500 saw 33 new 52-week highs and 1 new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 98 new highs and 91 new lows.
Trading volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.91 billion shares, compared to the 12.03 billion average over the last 20 trading days.