(Bloomberg) — Stocks posted broad gains Friday after robust earnings from technology giants and as investors looked forward to a US jobs report expected to show further cooling in the labor market in a boost for hopes of interest-rate cuts.
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Wall Street was poised to add to Thursday’s advance, with contracts for the S&P 500 up 0.5% and those for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rising 1%. Meta Platforms Inc. soared 15% in extended trading and Amazon.com Inc. rallied after quarterly profit from the tech behemoths topped expectations. Apple Inc. slipped after its earnings showed weakness in China.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 index was buoyed by positive earnings news, with Swedish appliance maker Electrolux AG jumping 6% and Vallourec SACA surging 9% in Paris. The picture was more mixed in Asia, where key Chinese benchmarks pared steep declines in a session marked by wild swings. A broader gauge of the region’s stocks climbed 0.7%.
Investors will parse the monthly US jobs report due later Friday for evidence of further cooling the labor market that might encourage the Federal Reserve to ease borrowing costs. Employers are expected to have added workers at a slower pace in January, while Bloomberg economists see the unemployment rate edging up to 3.8%, from 3.7% in December.
Treasuries were steady after an advance Thursday that dragged the 10-year yield three basis points lower. An index of the dollar slipped.
During Friday’s volatile session in China, the Shanghai Composite gauge tumbled almost 4% as healthcare and tech stocks slid, with some market watchers attributing the losses to selling ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. It later pared the decline to 1.5%.
“China needs to fix its property crisis before any chance of regaining investor confidence,” said Kieran Calder, head of Asia equity research at Union Bancaire Privee. “Until this happens, it’s a market for short-term traders.”
Meanwhile, Japan’s Aozora Bank Ltd. fell 16%, taking its weekly decline to over 30%, after the firm said that it would report its first loss in 15 years due to bad loans tied to US property.
US investors will continue to closely track developments in regional banks. An index of US regional financials is on pace for its worst week since May last year, during the fallout of the banking crisis. New York Community Bancorp shares closed at their lowest since 2000 on Thursday, sinking 11% and adding to the prior day’s record 38% plunge. NYCB this week shocked investors by reducing its dividend, posting a quarterly loss and ramping up loan-loss provisions.
Elsewhere, Oil halted a two-day drop while gold was little changed. Bloomberg News reported negotiations are advancing for a deal to pause the Israel-Hamas war and free civilian hostages.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
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The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4% as of 8:24 a.m. London time
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S&P 500 futures rose 0.5%
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Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.9%
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Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed
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The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.7%
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The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.9%
Currencies
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The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
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The euro was little changed at $1.0881
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The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 146.66 per dollar
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The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1894 per dollar
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The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.2760
Cryptocurrencies
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Bitcoin fell 0.2% to $43,008.28
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Ether rose 0.3% to $2,310.97
Bonds
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The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.89%
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Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.17%
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Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 3.79%
Commodities
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Abhishek Vishnoi, Ishika Mookerjee and Richard Henderson.
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