US Markets
Stocks bounce, but yields keep pressure on the tape
A soft jobs report lifts equities and cools volatility, while Treasury yields stay pinned near multi-year highs.
U.S. stocks finish higher across the board. The S&P 500 rises 0.7% to 7,722.7, the Nasdaq Comp. climbs 1.2% to 27,190.9, the Dow adds 0.5% to 51,177.0, and the Russell 2000 gains 0.9% to 2,832.9. The day is choppy, though, with the S&P 500 spending most of the session well below its early peak before edging back near 7,723 at the close.
Volatility backs off. The VIX drops 6.6% to 15.31, and the VIX 9-day falls 13.9% to 12.06. The move lines up with a market that had already spent the morning digesting a labor report showing just 29,000 jobs added in September and unemployment at 4.2%, a mix that CNBC says cut the odds of an October Fed hike.
Sector leadership skews toward growth and cyclicals. Discretionary rises 1.1%, Tech gains 1.0%, Industrials adds 0.8%, and Materials climbs 0.7%. Utilities, Staples, Real Estate, and Comm Svcs also finish green, while Health is basically flat at minus 0.0%.
The rate backdrop stays tight. The 5-Yr Treasury moves to 5.055, the 10-Yr to 5.277, and the 30-Yr to 5.63. Credit is softer, with LQD down 0.2% and MUB down 0.4%, while HYG ends essentially flat. In options, SPY puts outnumber calls, with a put-call ratio of 1.13, while QQQ leans more bullish at 0.9.