Wall Street opens higher, encouraged by good US employment figures

Wall Street opened higher on Friday, pushed to new records by the good US employment figures published before market.

In the first exchanges, the Dow Jones took 0.87% to 36,439.96 points, the Nasdaq index, influenced by technology stocks, gained 0.46% to 16,014.38 points and the extended S&P 500 index, 0, 49% at 4,711.40 points.

Nasdaq and S&P 500 posted their sixth straight record on Thursday. On Friday, the Nasdaq was even on its way for its tenth consecutive rising session.

The US economy created 531,000 jobs in October, the Labor Department announced before the market opened, well above the expected 400,000.

The unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.6% (-0.2 points).

Among the few shadows on the table, the participation rate (share of the active population employed or looking for work), which remains at a low level (61.6%), which could contribute to a persistent tension in the labor market. work in the United States.

“Overall this is a good report,” commented Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital, “and it will allow stocks to continue their ascent, supported by the economic outlook and corporate results, which continue to grow. ‘bring positive news. ”

After an auspicious month of October, Wall Street is benefiting from the alignment of the stars, with a Federal Reserve (Fed) still accommodating, companies resisting better than expected and an economy recovering after a slow end of summer.

“The market will continue to grow until the end of the year, at a slower pace” than in recent weeks, predicts Peter Cardillo.

Among the values ​​noted Friday at the start of the session, Pfizer was propelled (+ 9.92%) by the announcement of the first very positive results of its anti-Covid tablet against severe forms of the disease.

The news weighed on its competitor Merck (-8.90%), the day after the marketing authorization by the British authorities of its capsule against the coronavirus.

Another title in form, Airbnb (+ 8.74%), which signed between July and September the best quarter in its history, with the key to a profit and a turnover significantly higher. The platform takes advantage of the changing uses and development of teleworking, which is diversifying the forms of travel and rental of accommodation.

Another beneficiary of the rebound in tourism, the online reservation site Expedia (+ 13.05%), which also exceeded expectations for its revenues and net profit. In addition to the strong growth in reservations, the increase in the average price also boosted the platform’s financial statements.

Uber advanced (+ 6.94%) the day after the publication after market close, of the first operating profit in its history since its creation, in 2009. The group is gradually reconstituting its pool of drivers, which had contracted sharply with the pandemic, and has seen trip bookings jump 67% year-on-year.

Conversely, the exit from the pandemic is going badly for Peloton, torpedoed Friday at the start of the session (-30.04%).

The specialist in exercise bikes and connected treadmills published a net loss above expectations on Thursday evening and significantly lowered its revenue forecast for its postponed fiscal year 2021/22 (from July to June).

The reason for this is the increase in attendance at sports halls, a direct competitor to domestic equipment which is very fashionable during the pandemic.

In the bond market, the 10-year US government bond rate fell below 1.50% on Friday for the first time in a month. It was registering at 1.49% around 2:00 p.m. GMT.

Another sign that the market took in the more accommodating-than-expected speech made by the Fed on Wednesday and saw no monetary tightening in the short term, the two-year rate also eased significantly and stood at 0.42%.