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Payrolls Prop Up Stocks as Dow Adds 372 Points

Traders viewed today's employment report as supportive of additional Fed easing

Digital Content Manager
Oct 4, 2019 at 4:36 PM
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U.S. stocks ended the week on a high note, with the Dow tacking on over 370 points after a well-received U.S. jobs report for September. The economy added a softer-than-forecast 136,000 jobs during the month, while the unemployment rate fell to a 50-year low of 3.5%. The lukewarm data effectively served to reinforce fledgling optimism over the prospect of a sooner-than-expected Fed rate cut, helping stocks to pare the heavy losses they racked up to start October.  

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

  • The cloud partnership that sent 2 stocks skyrocketing. 
  • The stock one short seller slammed as a "cash incinerating 'unicorn'."
  • The pizza stock options bears are eating up ahead of earnings.
  • Plus, JHG slammed with a downgrade; a bull signal flashing for TXN; and COST opens lower post-earnings. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 26,573.72) gained 372.7 points, or 1.4%. Apple (AAPL) led the advance with a 2.8% lead as all 30 Dow components closed higher. The blue-chip index was down 0.9% for the week, and has lost 1.3% so far in October.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 2,952.01) settled 41.4 points, or 1.4% higher, to pare its weekly loss to 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 7,982.47) gained 110.2 points, or 1.4%, and eked out a 0.5% win for the week. The SPX is off 0.8% month-to-date, while the Nasdaq is 0.2% down from its September closing level.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 17.04) lost 2.1 points, or 10.9%, today. The VIX lost just over 1% for the week, but is up 4.9% for October so far.

Closing Indexes Summary Oct 4

NYSE and Nasdaq Stats Oct 4

5 Items on Our Radar Today

  1. The Wall Street Journal reported that Disney (DIS) plans on barring all Netflix (NFLX) advertisements from its TV properties, with the exception of ESPN, as it nears its Disney+ streaming platform release date. The report also said the blue-chip company was originally planning on banning ads from all streaming competitors, including Amazon (AMZN). (CNBC)
  2. U.K. tabloids the Daily Mirror and Sun newspaper, have come under fire after Britain's Prince Harry said he would sue the publishers of both papers over allegations of illegal interception of voicemail messages. (Reuters)
  3. 2 reasons one analyst is dropping Janus Henderson stock. 
  4. The technical signal that could mean even more upside for Texas Instruments
  5. The sales miss that sent Costco to early losses today. 

Corporate Earnings Oct 4

Unusual Options Activity Oct 4

Data courtesy of Trade-Alert

Oil Snaps Eight-Day Losing Streak, Gold Stumbles

Oil prices finally snapped their eight-day losing streak, as black gold bounced back alongside equities after today's jobs report. November-dated crude futures gained $0.36, or 0.7%, to settle at $52.81 per barrel, but lost 5.5% for the week. 

As investors turned back towards stocks, gold settled slightly south of the breakeven, clocking its first close lower this month. Gold futures for December delivery lost $0.90, or 0.06% to end at $1,512.90 per ounce. The commodity was up 0.4% for the week, however. 

 

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