(Bloomberg) — Stocks rose ahead of Friday’s key US jobs data, at the end of a volatile week in which mixed earnings from tech megacaps had the market on the defensive. Oil gained amid renewed tension in the Middle East.
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Amazon.com Inc. and Intel Corp. shares surged in premarket trading on optimistic earnings results, while Apple Inc. declined after reporting softer demand in China. Futures on the S&P 500 edged higher, with the benchmark on track for its worst weekly performance in more than a year amid unease over the outlook for artificial intelligence and cloud computing following results from Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc.
Today’s payrolls report could show job growth weakening, after an inflation measure favored by the Federal Reserve yesterday posted its biggest monthly gain since April. That muddied the water ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting, with the swaps market pricing in 20 basis points of easing, down from 24 at the start of the week.
Investors are also bracing for next week’s US election, with the so-called Fear Gauge – the CBOE Volatility Index — rising to levels last seen during the August market upheaval.
The “highly anticipated employment report, a busy week of earnings that includes a handful of the Magnificent Seven names, rising yields and, of course, next week’s U.S. election are all contributing to building angst in the market, not to mention the FOMC meeting,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial. “We may need to wait until after Election Day for volatility to normalize as the VIX futures curve points to potential elevated near-term turbulence for stocks.”
Among other stock moves in the US premarket, oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. rose after earnings beats. Boeing Co. gained after the aircraft maker reached a tentative agreement to end a labor dispute.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.7%, though it remains on track for its biggest weekly drop in two months. Gains for energy stocks helped prop up the gauge, with Shell Plc, Total Energies SE and BP Plc adding more than 1%. Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc soared 10% after a unit of the household goods company was cleared by a jury over claims it hid health risks of its premature-infant formula.
