Stock Market Today: Dow ends higher after rebounding amid 'goldilocks' jobs report

Investing.com -- The Dow staged a rebound to close higher Friday, shrugging off rising Treasury yields after a "goldilocks" jobs report showing higher than expected job gains in September, but a surprise slowing of wage growth stoked optimism that the economy can avoid a recession despite higher for longer Federal Reserve interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9%, 288 points, Nasdaq rose 1.6%, and the S&P 500 rose 1.2%.

'Goldilocks' jobs report stokes risk appetite

The U.S. economy created 336,000 jobs in September, the Labor Department reported on Friday, well above expectations for 170,000. But the average hourly earnings unexpectedly slowed to 0.2% for the month and 4.2% on annualized basis in September, easing fears about a tight labor market boosting wages and inflation.

The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.8%, compared with expectations for 3.7%.

"The silver lining is that we didn't see a lot of kick up in wages because that is ultimately what will affect costs and drive-up inflation" Randy Krozner, former Fed governor told Bloomberg in an interview Friday following the jobs report.

Others agree, with Scotiabank Economics saying in a Friday note “what the FOMC may focus upon more than jobs is the fact that average hourly earnings have hit a new soft patch in Goldilocks fashion.”

Treasury yields give up some gains, but remain near highs on Fed hike bets

Treasury yields retreated from session highs, but upside was supported by growing bets on another Federal Reserve rate hike by the end of year ticked higher.

The 10-Year Treasury yield was up by 7.9 basis points at 4.793% after hitting a high of 4.892%, while the yield on the 2-year Treasury climbed by 6 basis points to 5.086% after hitting a high of 5.151%.

Odds for a December rate hike jumped to nearly 40% on Friday from about 31% a day earlier, according to the Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.

Big tech, chips leads markets higher

Tech rallied 2% pushing the broader market higher, underpinned by Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).

Chip stocks, up 2%, were also involved in the heavy lifting even as some on Wall Street see the potential for further U.S. bans on exports of AI-enabling semiconductors and related equipment to China, weighing on the sector.

Nvidia, Marvell, and Intel are among several companies that could face additional restrictions on exports of chips, according to Barclays.

Levi slips on guidance cut

Levi Strauss & Co Class A (NYSE:LEVI) fell nearly1% after cutting its full-year sales guidance to a range of 0% to +1% versus 1.5% to 2.5% previously and reported third-quarter revenue that fell short of analyst estimates as ongoing slump in its wholesale business weighed.

Levi also detailed plans to cut further costs and step up the growth of its direct to consumer business.

But this will likely be offset be offset by “ongoing pressures in US wholesale, and risk that a tough global consumer macro backdrop could weigh on LEVI’s ability to deliver consensus revenue growth rates in 2024, Goldman Sachs said after reducing its price target to $13 from $14.