September jobs surge boosts stock market

The U.S. economy showed unexpected strength in September as employers added 254,000 jobs, far exceeding economists’ forecasts of 150,000. The unemployment rate also ticked down to 4.1% from 4.2% the previous month.

Another job report smashed out of the park by the Biden/Harris Administration.

In September, we added jobs to every sector of the economy from health care to the service industry, totaling over 250,000 added jobs last month.https://t.co/9BHvkyNl2C

— Senator Ben Cardin (@SenatorCardin) October 6, 2024

Michelle Cluver, head of ETF model portfolios at Global X, said, “After a summer of weak labor data readings, this is a reassuring signal that the U.S. economy remains resilient, supported by a healthy labor market.

Last week showed us that the US labor market is even stronger than we thought.

"It’s not just a strong recovery, but the kind of recovery that is quite sustainable." @mikemadowitz shares his thoughts in @nytimes ⤵️ https://t.co/vpWt9YJxd7

— Roosevelt Institute (@rooseveltinst) October 7, 2024

We remain in an environment where good economic news is good news for the equity market as it increases the potential for a soft landing.”

One of the clips from this morning's conversation with @annmarie, @daniburgz and @FerroTV
Thank you Annmarie, Dani and Jonathan for having me on @bsurveillancehttps://t.co/80gnFxc69F#economy #markets #federalreserve #growth #inflation @business @markets @economics #econtwitter

— Mohamed A. El-Erian (@elerianm) October 8, 2024

The strong jobs report boosted stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.9% to 42,352.75 and the S&P 500 jumping 1.22% to 18,137.85. The Nasdaq Composite added 341.16 points, or 0.81%, to close at 5,751.07. Megacap tech names climbed on Friday, contributing to the Nasdaq’s outperformance. Financials were the top sector in the S&P 500 during the session, surging 1.6% to close at a record high.

September jobs report spurs market rally

Small cap stocks also rallied, erasing losses seen in recent days. Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s chief investment officer of global fixed income, believes the Federal Reserve will proceed with small rate cuts in light of the strong jobs report. “We think that the rate descent should continue, but with today’s strong data, it’s more likely that the Fed will move in 25 basis point cut increments, and not the near-term 50 bps cuts the market had been pricing in,” Rieder said. Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management, said, “This morning’s report is good for stocks, and the economy continues to show incredible resilience. I’m more bullish today than I was yesterday—and I was a bull then.” The job gains were broad-based across several industries, with education and health adding 81,000 jobs, leisure and hospitality adding 62,000, construction adding 28,000, and business services adding 41,000. Manufacturing lost 8,000 jobs. Diane Swonk, the chief economist at the accounting firm KPMG, said, “I actually think we are in the mother of all soft landings.” The impressive job growth and declining unemployment rate suggest that the U.S. economy remains on solid footing despite concerns about a potential slowdown. The data sets a positive tone for the economy’s outlook in the near term.