Market Recap

Week Ending 1st November 2024

Stocks rallied Friday to kick off November as Amazon led big technology stocks into the green and traders looked past a disappointing jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 288.73 points, or 0.69%, ending at 42,052.19. The S&P 500 advanced 0.41% to close at 5,728.80, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8% to 18,239.92.

Amazon rallied 6.2% as strength in the cloud and advertising businesses propelled the e-commerce giant above Wall Street’s earnings expectations. Intel popped 7.8% after exceeding analysts’ forecasts for revenue and offering strong guidance. The two stocks helped lift investor sentiment following some notable earnings disappointments this week.

Megacap tech stocks are still “the tail wagging the dog,” said Rob Williams, chief investment strategist at Sage Advisory. “You’re seeing some broadening, but it’s still such a massive component right now.”

Markets took in their stride the disappointing headline numbers in the all-important jobs report. The US economy added just 12,000 jobs in October, significantly missing expectations. The government said those numbers were weighed down by recent hurricanes and strike activity, most prominently at Boeing (BA).

The report is the last major economic data before the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision on Nov. 7. Market expectations for that meeting moved little in its wake, with traders pricing in about 99% odds of a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed meeting next week, per CME FedWatch.

In addition to the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5., which has led to elevated volatility, investors are also looking toward the Fed’s two-day policy meeting on Nov. 6-7.

The major averages are wrapping up a choppy week. The S&P 500 lost 1.4% in the period, while the Nasdaq slid 1.5%. Postearnings slumps in Microsoftand Meta Platforms weighed on the indexes. The 30-stock Dow inched down 0.2% week to date.

The strong start to November comes after a difficult October for the market. The 30-stock Dow pulled back 1.3% in October. The broad market index fell 1% in that time, while the Nasdaq dropped 0.5%.

Meanwhile Europe’s main stock index notched its biggest one-day gain in five weeks on Friday, as banks led an overall market rebound after recent declines, with investors assessing economic data, corporate earnings and the upcoming U.S. elections.