Market Snapshot: Dow futures up 140 points after stronger-than-expected October jobs report

How are stock-index futures trading?

• Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
  YM00,
  +0.38%
  rose 140 points, or 0.4%, to 36,149.

• S&P 500 futures
  ES00,
  +0.43%
  rose 0.4% to 4,692.75

• Nasdaq-100 futures
  NQ00,
  +0.29%
  rose 0.3% to 16,377.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.09%
snapped a five-day winning streak, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.42%
and Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
+0.81%
each logged a sixth straight record close.

What’s driving the market?

The U.S. economy created 531,000 jobs in October, the Labor Department said. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a rise of 450,000. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6% last month from 4.8%. Also, September job gains were raised to 312,000 from a previous estimate of 194,000, while August jobs were raised to 483,000 from 366,000.

While stock index futures modestly added to gains, the jobs report “isn’t likely to mean much for the stock market, as the jobs report is a lagging economic data point, and the stock market currently is focused on corporate earnings and a continued reopening of the economy,” said Jay Pestrichelli, CEO of ZEGA Financial. “Stocks are still one of the most attractive assets, given our low interest rate environment.”

Given Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made clear at the central bank’s news conference this week that he is willing to “tolerate hot inflation levels well into 2022,” both jobs and wage inflation would need to come in pretty strong to speed up the Fed’s timeline towards its first interest rate hike, said Saxo Bank’s chief investment officer, Steen Jakobsen, in a note to clients.

“U.S. equity markets have gone into melt-up mode in the wake of the FOMC meeting, as the Fed is set for a slow QE tapering, while falling long bond yields and even lower oil prices over the last couple of days are adding further tailwinds,” he said.

He said investors may want to cash in some of those recent equity gains, as the market could easily “sell off and go back to test the levels around the high from late August and early September.”

Investors were also sifting through a heavy slate of results as the busiest portion of what’s been an upbeat third-quarter earnings season comes to an end.

September consumer credit will be released at 3 p.m. Eastern.

What companies are in focus?

• Pfizer
  PFE,
  -1.31%
  shares climbed 10.7% in premarket after the pharmaceutical company said its COVID antiviral reduced the risk of hospitalizations or death by 89% in a Phase 2/3 study.

• Shares of rival Merck & Co. Inc.
  MRK,
  +2.10%
  fell 9%. Merck said last month that its experimental treatment reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 50% in a late-stage trial. It has already submitted an application to U.S. regulators for authorization.

• Shares of Peloton Interactive Inc.
  PTON,
  -4.27%
  tumbled 32% in premarket trading after the exercise equipment maker producted a weaker-than-expected holiday outlook and cut its full-year forecast.

• Shares of Uber Technologies Inc. UBER were up 2.2%, after the ride-hailing company late Thursday said that third-quarter revenue grew in both of its major businesses across all regions as COVID-19 restrictions eased, though losses also more than doubled.

• Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.
  LGF.A,
  +0.07%
  shares rose 11% after the media group said it’s mulling a sale or spinoff of its Starz unit.

• Airbnb Inc.
  ABNB,
  +3.23%
  shares rose 6% after the travel-booking company posted its highest-ever quarterly revenue and net income.

• Pinterest Inc.
  PINS,
  -2.33%
  stock rose 5% after reporting strong sales and earnings, but fewer-than-expected monthly users.

• Square Inc. SQ late Thursday reported lower-than-expected revenue for the third quarter as less volatile pricing for bitcoin affected demand, though the company’s chief financial officer noted “strength” in volume during October. Shares were down 3.5%.

• Shares of Shake Shack Inc. SHAK TK rose 6.6% after its outlook and weaker-than-expected revenue overshadowed a smaller-than-expected loss.

• GoPro Inc. GPRO late Thursday delivered results that beat expectations for its most recent quarter and expressed confidence in its ability to hit its full-year targets, despite a continuing supply crunch that may limit upside. Shares rose more than 12%.

• Online auto retailer Carvana Co. CVNA shares fell 3.8% after it said a continued wave of demand for used cars nearly doubled its quarterly revenue, though efforts to build inventories saw it run against “significant operational constraints.”

How are other assets trading?

• The yield on the 10-year Treasury note BX:TMUBMUSD10Y rose 0.8 basis point to 1.532%. Yields and debt prices move in opposite directions.

• The ICE U.S. Dollar Index 
  DXY,
  +0.20%,
   a measure of the currency against a basket of six major rivals, rose 0.1%.

• Oil futures were rebounding from Thursday’s losses. The U.S. benchmark CL00 CLZ22 up 1.1% at $79.68 a barrel. Gold futures GC00 were flat at $1,793.50 an ounce.

• The Stoxx Europe 600
  SXXP,
  +0.22%
  rose 0.2%, while London’s FTSE 100
  UKX,
  +0.46%
  gained 0.5%.

• The Shanghai Composite
  SHCOMP,
  -1.00%
  fell 1%, the Hang Seng Index
  HSI,
  -1.41%
  lost 1.4% and Japan’s Nikkei 225
  NIK,
  -0.61%
  declined 0.6%.