NEW YORK, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks rallied on Friday as investors assessed a wave of tech earnings and key labor market data, boosting optimism that the Federal Reserve might consider easing interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 288.73 points, or 0.69 percent, to 42,052.19. The S&P 500 added 23.35 points, or 0.41 percent, to 5,728.8. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 144.77 points, or 0.80 percent, to 18,239.92.
Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with utilities and real estate leading the laggards by losing 2.26 percent and 1.09 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, consumer discretionary and technology led the gainers by going up 2.40 percent and 0.61 percent, respectively.
For the week, the Dow edged down 0.1 percent, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dipped 1.4 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
The latest government employment report revealed a small addition of 12,000 jobs in October, affected by data collection challenges from hurricanes and labor strikes, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.
Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, commented that while this report primarily reflects temporary disruptions like the hurricanes and strikes, it may still signal broader trends. "It is quite consistent with the big picture and the ongoing labor market slowdown that we've seen over the past two years," she said. "The main issue in the labor market is still restricted monetary policy, not strikes and storms, and that actually is sort of a consistent narrative that we've seen."
In manufacturing, the U.S. purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 46.5 percent in October from 47.2 percent in September, marking the lowest reading of 2024 and signaling a slight slowdown in the sector. Nevertheless, the overall economy maintained expansion for the 54th consecutive month following a brief contraction in April 2020, as reported by the Institute for Supply Management.
