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Stocks rose slightly amid strong job growth, while unemployment rose and wages fell. The dollar also fell, but gold, silver, and the 10-year yield are up. Possible Wells Fargo mortgage layoffs, Maersk warning, and more financial news.
The US economy added 261,000 non-farm payroll jobs in October, according to the latest data released by the Department of Labor on Friday. The number of added jobs exceeded the 195,000 Wall Street expected, and topped the 200,000 jobs estimated by a Reuters poll of economists, Yahoo reported.
However, despite job growth, unemployment rose to 3.7% from 3.5% in September. At the same time, wage inflation fell to 4.7% from 5% in the prior month.
Stocks rose slightly on Friday, but wobbled, with all the major averages on pace for a weekly decline, as investors drew conflicting conclusions about the latest jobs report and what they mean in the face of future Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, CNBC reported.
Early in the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 600 points but dipped and last traded 130 points higher, or 0.4%. The NASDAQ dropped 0.15 percent, while the S&P 500 0.10%.
One bright point was Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI) soaring over 5% on Friday to finish the week up 8.7%, registering its biggest gain in over a decade, since 2011, CNN reported. China’s Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) also saw its best performance in over two years, rising 5.3%.
Starbucks stock gained 3% in premarket trading on Friday as its fiscal fourth-quarter sales beat analyst forecasts.
Precious metals silver and gold and the 10-year yield all moved up, as the US dollar dipped.
Safe-haven gold climbed over 2%, while spot gold added 2.6% to $1,670.79 an ounce, and U.S. gold futures gained 2.90% to $1,674.50 an ounce, Yahoo reported.
December silver also notched a three-week high, up $0.785 at $20.22, Kitco reported.
The benchmark US 10-year treasury yield continues to rise, with notes reaching 4.1689%.
The US dollar slumped based on the Labor Department’s unemployment report, with the dollar index dropping 1.33%, while the euro climbed by 1.43% to $0.989.
In the early weeks of the fourth quarter, Wells Fargo had roughly 18,000 loans in its retail origination pipeline. But now, according to people with knowledge of the company’s mortgage figures, that amount is down as much as 90 percent from a year earlier, CNBC reported.
With the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates by 0.75% on Wednesday, sources say Wells Fargo mortgage staff are bracing for layoffs. The company had already started laying off workers in April, and according to internal projections, it points to further reduction of the company’s workforce.
Danish shipping giant Maersk, which is widely seen as a barometer for global trade, saw “exceptional results” in its profits due to a continued rise in ocean freight rates, but the company CEO said it is clear these have peaked.
Maersk says it has noted a slowdown in demand and an easing of supply chain congestion, CNBC reported. Maersk shares were down 6% during early trading in Europe.
“With the war in Ukraine, an energy crisis in Europe, high inflation, and a looming global recession there are plenty of dark clouds on the horizon,” CEO Skou said on Wednesday. “This weighs on consumer purchasing power which in turn impacts global transportation and logistics demand. While we expect a slow-down of the global economy to lead to a softer market in Ocean, we will continue to pursue the growth opportunities within our Logistics business.”
