Markets
Yiwen Lu

US stocks rally, bonds sink on strong jobs report

The S&P 500 finished Friday up 0.9% on a blockbuster jobs report, delivering a weekly gain of 0.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 added 1.2%. The Russell 2000, which tracks small caps, rose 1.5% but finished the week down 0.5%. 

254,000 jobs were added in September — the most in six months. Bond yields rose sharply on the news. The policy-sensitive two-year Treasury yields gained 22 basis points to hit 3.92%, while the 10-year yields were up 13 basis points. The US dollar was stronger and gained more than 2% this week, its best weekly performance in two years.

Traders trimmed bets on a 50-basis-point cut at the Federal Reserve’s November meeting, a smaller reduction a near lock, according to CME FedWatch. 

Most sectors were up, but housing-related stocks were a notable exception. The real estate sector ETF was down 0.7%, and companies like Extra Space Storage, credit agency Equifax and homebuilder D.R. Horton were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the day. This was a result of fewer expected rate cuts on the strong jobs report, which might lead to higher mortgage rates. Utilities was the only other sector that retreated. 

Conversely, the financial sector was the best performer, up 1.7%. 

Oil settled higher on Friday. Futures of both WTI crude and Brent crude were up more than 9% this week, as tensions in the Middle East continued to play out. Gold futures slid.

More Markets

See all Markets
markets

SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

markets

Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC and Chartr Limited produce fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and are fully owned subsidiaries of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, Robinhood Money, LLC, Robinhood U.K. Ltd, Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, Robinhood Gold, LLC, Robinhood Asset Management, LLC, Robinhood Credit, Inc., Robinhood Ventures DE, LLC and, where applicable, its managed investment vehicles.