US Stocks Turn Higher; Nasdaq Gains Over 1%

U.S. stocks turned higher midway through trading, following the release of jobs data for September.

The Dow traded up 0.94% to 33,429.87 while the NASDAQ rose 1.25% to 13,385.28. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 1.01% to 4,301.15.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Information technology shares rose by 1.1% on Friday.

In trading on Friday, consumer staples shares dipped by around 1.2%.

Top Headline

U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 336,000 in September, versus a revised 227,000 increase in August, and compared to market estimates of 170,000. The unemployment rate came in unchanged at 3.8% in September, above market estimates of 3.7%.

Equities Trading UP

ParaZero Technologies Ltd. PRZO shares shot up 51% to $0.9780 after the company and its partner OVRL announced the first-ever authorization from Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Agency (CASA) for drones to operate over populated areas and near people when using ParaZero safety systems.

Shares of NuScale Power Corporation SMR got a boost, shooting 14% to $5.33 after Standard Power chose the company's approved SMR technology and ENTRA1 Energy to support two projects.

Overstock.com, Inc. OSTK shares were also up, gaining 10% to $17.36 after Director Marcus Lemonis bought 31,800 shares of the company at an average price of $15.67.

Equities Trading DOWN

Park Aerospace Corp. PKE shares dropped 11% to $14.05 following second-quarter results. Park Aerospace reported earnings of $0.09 per share for the 2024 fiscal year second quarter, compared to $0.09 per share for the year-ago period. Its sales fell to $12.48 million from $13.88 million in the year-ago quarter.

Shares of OMNIQ Corp. OMQS were down 44% to $0.8723 after the company priced its public offering of 3 million common shares at $1 per share.

Aehr Test Systems AEHR was down, falling 16% to $37.29. Aehr Test Systems posted upbeat earnings and sales results for its first quarter. The company also reiterated its previously issued guidance for FY24.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.1% to $82.36 while gold traded up 0.6% at $1,843.50.

Silver traded up 2.9% to $21.62 on Friday while copper rose 2.3% to $3.6350.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.69% London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.44% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.60% The German DAX rose 0.83% French CAC 40 gained 0.72%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.92%.

France’s current account deficit shrank to EUR 0.8 billion in August from EUR 1.8 billion a month ago, while trade deficit rose slightly to €8.2 billion in August versus a revised €8.1 billion in the prior month.

The Halifax House Price Index for the UK fell by 4.7% year-over-year in September versus a revised 4.5% decline in August. Factory orders in Germany rose 3.9% month-over-month in August versus an 11.3% decline in July.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed higher on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.26% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rising 1.58%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, rose 0.7%.

The Reserve Bank of India held its benchmark policy repo at 6.5% at its recent meeting. Hong Kong’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $415.7 billion in September from $418.4 billion in the prior month.

The index of leading economic indicators in Japan rose to 109.5 in August from a final reading of 108.2 in the previous month, while household spending in Japan fell 2.5% year-over-year in August. Average cash earnings in Japan rose by 1.1% year-over-year for August.

Economics

U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 336,000 in September, versus a revised 227,000 increase in August, and compared to market estimates of 170,000.

The unemployment rate came in unchanged at 3.8% in September, above market estimates of 3.7%.

Average hourly earnings increased by 0.2% to $33.88 in September, the same pace as in the previous month and below market estimates of a 0.3% rise.

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