(Bloomberg) — The world’s biggest technology companies led a rally in U.S. stocks ahead of Apple’s earnings, and Wall Street also braced for Friday’s jobs report.
Most Read Articles on Bloomberg
Stock prices stopped falling for two days. Nvidia led gains among semiconductor makers, with Apple up 1.5%. Wall Street expects the iPhone maker to follow fellow technology giants Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. in announcing stock buybacks. News related to artificial intelligence capabilities could provide further excitement.
Ahead of the monthly jobs report, data showed U.S. labor costs rose by the most in a year as productivity growth slowed, raising the risk that inflation will remain high. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect nonfarm payrolls to rise by 240,000 jobs, which would be the slowest pace since November.
The Federal Reserve decided on Wednesday to keep its benchmark interest rate target range unchanged at 5.25% to 5.5%, citing a slew of data suggesting lingering price pressures. Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed’s next action is unlikely to be a rate hike.
“The Fed appears to have all but eliminated the possibility of raising rates, but they have also made clear that they intend to keep rates high for an extended period of time,” said Chris Larkin of Morgan Stanley’s E-Trade. “Markets will be hungry for any data that suggests the economy is no hotter than it was in the first quarter,” he said.
The S&P 500 index is hovering around 5,040. Qualcomm, the world’s largest maker of smartphone processors, soared on the positive outlook. EBay fell after a disappointing outlook. The yield on 10-year government bonds remained almost unchanged at 4.63%. The dollar has fallen.
The options market is predicting big swings in stock prices after Friday’s U.S. jobs report, which traders hope will give more clarity on how much the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year.
Based on the cost of at-the-money puts and calls expiring on Friday, the S&P 500 index moved 1.2 in either direction after the announcement, said Stuart Kaiser, head of U.S. equity trading strategy at Citigroup. It is expected to move by %.
The figure, based on the S&P straddle price as of Wednesday’s close, is the largest implied change before the jobs report since March 2023, he said.
Company highlights:
Peloton Interactive announced that Chief Executive Officer Barry McCarthy will step down as part of a major restructuring that will reduce the company’s global workforce by 15% in an effort to cut costs.
MGM Resorts International reports first-quarter sales and profits that beat analysts’ expectations, benefiting from new partnership with Marriott International that helped Macau’s post-pandemic recovery and hotel room vacancies did.
Carvana Inc. reported strong earnings with sales exceeding expectations as it moves ahead with its restructuring plan and regains sales momentum.
DoorDash Inc., the largest U.S. food delivery service, announced disappointing profit estimates for the current quarter as it invests in expanding its list of non-restaurant partners and improving efficiency.
Moderna Inc. reported a narrower first-quarter loss than Wall Street expected as the biotech giant’s cost cuts offset a steep decline in its coronavirus business.
Apollo Global Management Inc. reported higher first-quarter profits as it collected more management fees and originated a record $40 billion in private credit, a key area of growth.
This week’s main events:
Eurozone unemployment rate, Friday
US unemployment rate, non-farm payrolls, ISM services, Friday
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsby speaks on Friday
The main movements in the market are:
stock
As of 10:31 a.m. New York time, the S&P 500 was up 0.4%.
Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%.
Stoxx Europe 600 has little change
MSCI World Index rose 0.5%
currency
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%.
The euro fell 0.2% to $1.0688.
The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2487.
The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 154.40 yen to the dollar.
cryptocurrency
Bitcoin rose 2.4% to $58,651.28.
Ether rose 1.3% to $2,975.97
bond
The 10-year government bond yield was almost unchanged at 4.63%.
Germany’s 10-year bond yield fell 2 basis points to 2.56%.
UK 10-year bond yields fell 5 basis points to 4.31%.
merchandise
West Texas Intermediate crude oil is little changed.
Spot gold fell 1% to $2,296.52 an ounce.
This article was produced in partnership with Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Ryan Vlastelica and Jessica Menton.
Most Read Articles on Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 Bloomberg LP
