Stocks slip after big jobs miss, oil hits $80 level

US economy added 194K jobs in September

U.S. stock indexes fell Friday after the September jobs data fell short of estimates and after the Senate passed a short-term increase to the debt limit. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 8 points, or 0.02%, while the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite index declined 0.19% and 0.51%, respectively. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 49359.33 -83.11 -0.17%
SP500 S&P 500 6940.01 -4.46 -0.06%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 23515.387515 -14.63 -0.06%

For the week all three of the major averages posted gains with Dow gaining over 1%. 

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 194,000 workers in September as the unemployment rate fell to 4.8%, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting the addition of 500,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate to slip to 5.1%. The jobs gains in August were revised up to 366,000 from 235,000.

The disappointing report comes hours after the Senate passed a measure that would raise the debt ceiling by $480 billion, giving the Treasury enough money to pay bills until Dec. 3. A House vote is expected in the coming days. 

SENATE VOTES TO LIFT DEBT CEILING BY $480 BILLION

The developments caused traders to sell U.S. Treasurys, with the yield on the 10-year note rising 3 basis points to 1.6%, a four-month high.

In stocks, tech and other growth sectors underperformed as bond yields rose.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
AMZN AMAZON.COM INC. 239.12 +0.94 +0.39%
AAPL APPLE INC. 255.52 -2.69 -1.04%
MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 459.86 +3.20 +0.70%

Vaxart Inc.’s oral COVID-19 vaccine candidate reduces airborne transmission of the virus in animal model, according to a study led by Duke University. Shares of fellow vaccine makers, including Moderna Inc., took the news in stride.  

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
VXRT VAXART 0.7017 +0.05 +7.95%
MRNA MODERNA INC. 41.84 +2.48 +6.29%

Tesla Inc. will move its headquarters to Austin, Texas, from Palo Alto, California, CEO Elon Musk said Thursday. Still, the electric-car maker plans to increase production at its plants in California and Nevada. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
TSLA TESLA INC. 437.50 -1.07 -0.24%

In deals, insurer Chubb Ltd. agreed to buy Cigna Corp.’s life, accident and supplemental benefits business in Asia Pacific and Turkey for $5.75 billion. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
CB CHUBB LTD. 300.77 -0.34 -0.11%
CI THE CIGNA GROUP 272.21 -5.74 -2.07%

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil hit $80 intraday before closing up $1.05 to $79.35 a barrel, its highest close in seven years. Gold, meanwhile, slipped $1.60 to $1,756.30 an ounce.

Overseas markets were mixed with weakness in Europe and strength in Asia. 

European bourses were modestly lower with Germany’s DAX 30 losing 0.29% and France’s CAC 40 sliding 0.61%. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.25%,  

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In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.55%, China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 0.67% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.34%.