The Dow Jones Industrial Average pared most of its early gains at noon on Friday. The blue-chip index rose by more than 500 points after the September labor report showed higher-than-expected employment gains. Talks of China's easing Covid policy spurred buying interest.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite also scaled back from their early gains. The broader index traded flat as well, while the Nasdaq slipped into negative territory at noon.
The small-cap Russell 2000 led gains by nearly 1%.
Crude oil surged nearly 4%, lifting above the $90 psychological level to trade at $91.54 per barrel.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note inched up to 4.15%.
Volume surged on the NYSE while it was slightly higher on the Nasdaq vs. the same time on Thursday.
Indications of a tight labor market continue.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 261,000 jobs in October while the unemployment rate lifted 0.2%, to 3.7%. Unemployment has been stuck within a narrow 3.5%-3.7% range since March.
U.S. employers have added an average 407,000 jobs per month so far for 2022, compared with 562,000 in 2021. September's numbers were revised up to 315,000 new jobs.
According to Chief Investment Officer Brad McMillan at Commonwealth Financial, the big picture shows a normalizing labor market with a good mix of growth and slowdown that could make the Fed pause in six months.
Health care, professional and technical services, and the manufacturing sector added the most jobs.
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple fell nearly 3% while Microsoft reversed higher from bear lows. Apple briefly tested its 200-day line after rising above its 50-day in October. Health care leaders UnitedHealth and Merck are holding above their key levels.
Chinese Stocks On Winning Streak
Chinese stocks extended gains on hopes of a relaxed Covid policy in China. Xpeng rallied 15%, Alibaba rose 4% and Nio jumped over 13%. BYD slipped fractionally while Chinese internet giant Baidu gained 8%.
Initial audits of these U.S.-listed Chinese companies also finished ahead of time, fueling hopes for fewer regulatory roadblocks for Chinese stocks.
Tesla's China deliveries slowed in October to 71,704 units, after September's record 83,135 high. Sales were down 14%.
Earlier, the EV giant cut prices for its Models 3 and Y by 9%, as demand cooled. TSLA shares fell 1%. Rival Rivian rose slightly while battery maker Plug slipped just a bit at noon.
Earnings Movers Outside Dow Jones
Starbucks reported a whopping $8.4 billion in fiscal Q4 sales while earning 82 cents per share. Shares gapped up and approached a buy point of 93.58 in a flat base. They are headed toward their largest percentage increase since March 2020.
Coinbase earned $2.43 per share on revenue of $590.3 million. Shares rose over 7%.
PayPal posted a profit of $1.08 per share, with revenue of $6.85 billion. Revenue grew 11% while earnings slumped 3%, PayPal fell 4% at noon.
Block Q3 earnings grew 68% to 42 cents per share on $4.5 billion in sales. Shares rose nearly 12% in strong volume.
Among energy stocks, Wesco reported $5.4 billion in sales and $4.49 per share in earnings. Denbury had $439 million in sales with $1.90 in earnings per share. Shares fell slightly at noon.
On the Dow Jones, Amgen reported a strong quarter, with revenue of $6.6 billion and earnings of $4.70 per share. Amgen stock ticked lower.
Twilio plunged 35% to a four-year low. Several analyst downgrades added to a dim outlook, driving the stock lower. The cloud-based messaging platform posted sales of $983 million and a loss of 27 cents per share.
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