WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the sell-off seen during Thursday's session, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside in early trading on Friday. The major averages gave back some ground over the course of the trading day but remained firmly in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way higher, advancing 144.77 points or 0.8 percent to 18,239.92 after moving sharply lower over two previous sessions. The Dow also climbed 288.73 points or 0.7 percent to 42,052.19, bouncing off its lowest closing level in over a month, while the S&P 500 rose 23.35 points or 0.4 percent to 5,728.80.
Despite the rebound on the day, the major averages all moved to the downside for the week. The Dow dipped by 0.2 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slumped by 1.4 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
The rebound on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from big-name companies like Intel (INTC) and Amazon (AMZN).
Semiconductor giant Intel soared by 7.8 percent after reporting better than expected third quarter results and providing strong guidance.
Shares of Amazon also spiked by 6.2 percent after the online retail giant reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
On the other hand, shares of Apple (AAPL) moved to the downside even though the tech giant reported better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results.
Traders were also digesting the Labor Department's closely watched report, which showed much weaker than expected job growth in the month of October.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment crept up by 12,000 jobs in October after jumping by a downwardly revised 223,000 jobs in September.
Economists had expected employment to climb by 113,000 jobs compared to the surge of 254,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate came in at 4.1 percent in October, unchanged from September and in line with economist estimates.
While the data raised some concerns about the strength of the economy, the report also led to renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates.
However, due the impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton and the Boeing (BA) strike, the report may not affect the Federal Reserve's plan to gradually lower rates.
Sector News
Retail stocks moved sharply higher on the heels of the upbeat results from Amazon, driving the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index up by 2.6 percent to a record closing high.
Considerable strength was also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.
Airline, networking and computer hardware stocks also saw significant strength, while notable weakness emerged among utilities and natural gas stocks.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dove by 2.6 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.2 percent, although Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index bucked the downtrend and jumped by 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both climbed by 0.8 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries pulled back sharply after initially rallying in reaction to the monthly jobs data. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, jumped 7.7 basis points to a nearly four-month closing high of 4.361 percent after hitting a low of 4.223 percent.
Looking Ahead
The outcome of the U.S. presidential election is likely to be in focus next week, while reports on factory orders, service sector activity and consumer sentiment may also attract attention.
Trading may also be impacted by reaction to the latest earnings news, with a slew of well know companies due to report their quarterly results.
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