The Jobs Report Was Weaker Than Expected. Stocks Climbed And Nvidia Hit a New Record.
Stocks climbed on Friday after a weaker-than-expected jobs report, buoyed by Nvidia, which hit a new record, its market cap hitting $5.7 trillion.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.49, while the S&P 500 did so 0.74%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite overperformed, increasing by 1.19%. The index hit an intra-day record earlier in the session before pairing some gains.
Tesla was another bright spot in the session. Its stock climbed after the company announced it delivered 486,532 vehicles in the third quarter of 2026, beating Wall Street expectations as the electric vehicle maker showed a sharp improvement from earlier this year despite intensifying global competition.
Moreover, odds of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve decreased further on Friday after the jobs report was much weaker than expected.
Chances that the central bank will keep rates unchanged have climbed to 86.2%, compared to 75.6% on Thursday, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. They stood at 64.2% on Wednesday.
Private payrolls increased by 29,000 in September, well below expectations, while the unemployment rate climbed as well, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected nonfarm payrolls to increase by 84,000, with the unemployment rate holding at 4.1%. Health care, construction and manufacturing led the gains, while financial activities fell.
The figures are a sizable slowdown from August. And that month’s figures were revised lower to 133,000. July’s numbers were also changed, going from a gain to a loss of 10,000. Overall, the revisions showed 60,000 fewer jobs that previously reported.
Payroll growth has been volatile through much of this year, even as the unemployment rate has moved relatively little.
President Donald Trump also claimed on Friday that European countries agreed to release diesel stocks to address soaring prices.
“Europe has just agreed to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked Diesel Oil. The process will begin immediately,” Trump said in a social media publication. The G7 later confirmed the announcement, saying nations agreed to release 100 million barrels.
Group leaders said the deployment will begin immediately and continue over four months, but there will be a “frontloaded substantial diesel release within the first 20 days.” It will be coordinated with the International Energy Agency.
“We will convene in the context of the IEA in the coming days to discuss the possibility of additional diesel releases as necessary,” the group added.
