Dow Jones Industrial Average rallies 369 points
The Dow closed 372.68 points higher, or 1.42% at 26,573.72. The S&P 500 gained 1.42% to close at 2,951.01. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.4% to 7,982.47. Friday’s gains came after the latest U.S. jobs report hit the sweet spot among Wall Street traders.
‘Goldilocks’ jobs report boost stocks
The U.S. economy added 136,000 jobs in September, missing a Dow Jones estimate of 145,000. However, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%, which is a 50-year low. The report was good enough to stave off recession fears while lackluster enough to keep the Federal Reserve on track to lower rates by another 25 basis points later this month. One trader described the report as “Goldilocks.”
Apple, tech lead
Apple rose TK% after Nikkei reported the tech giant is ramping up production of its iPhone 11 by 10%. Other tech stocks, including Facebook, Microsoft, Alphabet, Skyworks Solutions traded higher to lead the gains.
What happens next?
Investors will brace for the next round of U.S.-China trade talks. The negotiations will take place in Washington Thursday and Friday. Wall Street will look for signs of substantive progress from the talks as the conflict has dragged on for more than a year. Read more here.