Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., Sept. 28, 2026.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stocks rose Friday, though were off their highs, following a surprisingly weak jobs report that raised hopes the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady in October.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 75 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 gained 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1%, hitting an all-time higher earlier in the day before retreating slightly from those levels.
Treasury yields fell Friday initially following the employment report, though they rebounded, pushing U.S. equities off their highs for the session.
Tech stocks rallied as risk-taking resumed on Wall Street, with shares of Nvidia hitting an all-time high for the first time since May. CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks and AMD also all rose to all-time highs. Meanwhile, shares of Intel and AMD also rose 2% and 3%, respectively.
September’s nonfarm payrolls report showed the U.S. economy added 29,000 jobs last month, with unemployment rising to 4.2%. The Dow Jones consensus called for jobs growth of 84,000 and for the unemployment rate to hold steady at 4.1%.
“This is the exact kind of number the market wanted from a labor standpoint,” said Phil Blancato, chief market strategist at Osaic. “Not too hot, not too cold … not overly great, and not weakening.”
That number made traders reassess the next move for the Federal Reserve. Fed funds futures trading suggests a 78% likelihood the central bank will stand pat at this month’s meeting, up from a roughly 76% chance just the prior day, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Saira Malik, chief investment officer at Nuveen, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the report may give the market support before earnings season kicks off, which she thinks will be “very strong.”
“So, I think this could be the start of the Santa Claus rally that we’ve all been hoping for,” she said.
Oil prices pulled back, supporting equities, following a report that European nation states are considering a release of strategic fuel reserves following pressure from the Trump administration.
Investors are coming off a modestly higher session Thursday, to start off the month of October. However, the Dow and the S&P 500 were headed for weekly losses amid a global bond rout, while the Nasdaq was the only major average on pace to end the week with gains.
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed to this report
