US Stocks Turn Higher; Nasdaq Gains Over 1%
U.S. stocks turned higher midway through trading, following the release of jobs data for September.
The Dow traded up 0.94% to 33,429.87 while the NASDAQ rose 1.25% to 13,385.28. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 1.01% to 4,301.15.
Check This Out: Top 4 Health Care Stocks That Are Preparing To Pump This Quarter
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Information technology shares rose by 1.1% on Friday.
In trading on Friday, consumer staples shares dipped by around 1.2%.
Top Headline
U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 336,000 in September, versus a revised 227,000 increase in August, and compared to market estimates of 170,000. The unemployment rate came in unchanged at 3.8% in September, above market estimates of 3.7%.
Equities Trading UP
ParaZero Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:PRZO) shares shot up 51% to $0.9780 after the company and its partner OVRL announced the first-ever authorization from Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Agency (CASA) for drones to operate over populated areas and near people when using ParaZero safety systems.
Shares of NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR) got a boost, shooting 14% to $5.33 after Standard Power chose the company's approved SMR technology and ENTRA1 Energy to support two projects.
Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK) shares were also up, gaining 10% to $17.36 after Director Marcus Lemonis bought 31,800 shares of the company at an average price of $15.67.
Equities Trading DOWN
Park Aerospace Corp. (NYSE:PKE) shares dropped 11% to $14.05 following second-quarter results. Park Aerospace reported earnings of $0.09 per share for the 2024 fiscal year second quarter, compared to $0.09 per share for the year-ago period. Its sales fell to $12.48 million from $13.88 million in the year-ago quarter.
Shares of OMNIQ Corp. (NASDAQ:OMQS) were down 44% to $0.8723 after the company priced its public offering of 3 million common shares at $1 per share.
Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) was down, falling 16% to $37.29. Aehr Test Systems posted upbeat earnings and sales results for its first quarter. The company also reiterated its previously issued guidance for FY24.
Also Check This Out: These 3 Consumer Stocks With Over 3% Dividend Yields Are Recommended By Wall Street's Most Accurate Analysts
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.1% to $82.36 while gold traded up 0.6% at $1,843.50.
Silver traded up 2.9% to $21.62 on Friday while copper rose 2.3% to $3.6350.
Euro zone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.69% London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.44% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.60% The German DAX rose 0.83% French CAC 40 gained 0.72%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.92%.
France’s current account deficit shrank to EUR 0.8 billion in August from EUR 1.8 billion a month ago, while trade deficit rose slightly to €8.2 billion in August versus a revised €8.1 billion in the prior month.
The Halifax House Price Index for the UK fell by 4.7% year-over-year in September versus a revised 4.5% decline in August. Factory orders in Germany rose 3.9% month-over-month in August versus an 11.3% decline in July.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed higher on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.26% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rising 1.58%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, rose 0.7%.
The Reserve Bank of India held its benchmark policy repo at 6.5% at its recent meeting. Hong Kong’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $415.7 billion in September from $418.4 billion in the prior month.
The index of leading economic indicators in Japan rose to 109.5 in August from a final reading of 108.2 in the previous month, while household spending in Japan fell 2.5% year-over-year in August. Average cash earnings in Japan rose by 1.1% year-over-year for August.
Economics
U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 336,000 in September, versus a revised 227,000 increase in August, and compared to market estimates of 170,000.
The unemployment rate came in unchanged at 3.8% in September, above market estimates of 3.7%.
Average hourly earnings increased by 0.2% to $33.88 in September, the same pace as in the previous month and below market estimates of a 0.3% rise.
Now Read This: HP, Zoom Video And 2 Other Stocks Insiders Are Selling
