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 44782 -128.65 -0.29%
SP500 S&P 500 6047.15 +14.77 +0.24%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 19403.947849 +185.78 +0.97%

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. 210.71 +2.82 +1.36%
AAPL APPLE INC. 239.59 +2.26 +0.95%
MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 430.98 +7.52 +1.78%

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 0.59 -0.01 -1.64%
MRNA MODERNA INC. 44.26 +1.20 +2.79%

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. 357.09 +11.93 +3.46%

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. 289.91 +1.18 +0.41%
CI THE CIGNA GROUP 337.06 -0.74 -0.22%

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%.