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Out with a bang: Wall St rallies on jobs report, earnings on deck

Oct 7, 202307:11 GMT+11

JPM+1.54%WFC+0.99%C+1.73%SPN+0.41%
KEY POINTS:

• U.S. indexes end sharply higher, Nasdaq surges 1.6%
• Tech leads sector gains, jumping 1.9%, cons staples sole loser
• Dollar dips; crude, gold, bitcoin gain
• 10-year U.S. Treasury yield ~4.80%

OUT WITH A BANG: WALL STREET RALLIES ON JOBS REPORT, EARNINGS ON DECK (1605 EDT/2005 GMT)
Wall Street pulled a broad rally out of its hat on Friday after investors chewed over an eye-opening September jobs report and positioned themselves ahead of a week loaded with crucial inflation data and the onset of third quarter reporting season.
All three major U.S. indexes took a while to decide that the employment data actually could bode well for the path of future Fed policy, which sent interest rate sensitive momentum stocks higher along with most of the rest of the stock market.
The S&P 500 snapped its Friday-to-Friday losing streak, notching its first up week in five.
The Nasdaq also nabbed a weekly percentage gain and the blue-chip Dow shed 0.3% on the week.
The jobs report delivered a jarring 98% upside surprise in September payroll gains along with sharp upward revisions in July and August data, seeming to hint at a labor market on fire.
But cooler than expected wage growth, and the unemployment rate landing a shade above expectations, eventually led market participants to view it as a "Fed friendly" report.
Benchmark Treasury yields briefly touched fresh 16-year highs before paring.
Next week, the Labor Department returns with two more inflation indicators, CPI and PPI, which should help complete the picture regarding inflation's arduous path back to the central bank's 2% annual target.
And third-quarter reporting season gets off to its unofficial start a week from today, when JPMorgan Chase JPM Wells Fargo WFC and Citigroup C cut the ribbon.
Analysts currently see aggregate third quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 1.3% year-on-year, down from 1.6% on Oct 1, according to LSEG, with financials SPN expected to post annual EPS growth of a robust 11.3%.