Investors Cheer Jobs Report: Why Are These 5 Stocks And 5 ETFs Shining On Friday?

The July jobs report issued Friday delivered mixed takeaways for the market, although it confirmed an overall healthy U.S. labor market.

On one hand, the pace of nonfarm payrolls growth fell short of forecasts in July, with 187,000 jobs gained compared to the expected 200,000. On the other hand, the jobless rate fell to 3.5%, exceeding expectations of 3.6%. Wages increased at a monthly pace of 0.4% and an annual rate of 4.4%, which was faster than expected.

Biden, Fed Governor On July’s Jobs Report

The market interpreted the jobs report in a dovish manner, lowering expectations for potential interest rate hikes in September. Market-derived probabilities put the chance of a 25-basis-point hike in September at 13%, down from 19% before the report was issued Friday morning.

President Joe Biden applauded the job market data, emphasizing that the share of working-age Americans with jobs has reached a 20-year high. He attributes this positive trend to the effects of his economic policies, often referred to as “Bidenomics.”

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said the Fed is likely to remain into restrictive territory well into 2024 and said he is unsurprised wages remain strong.

Five stocks from the Russell 1000 index (large-cap) and five exchange-traded funds had substantial price action in the opening minutes of trading Friday as a result of jobs data and the movement in interest rates, as well as statements regarding quarterly corporate results.

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5 Stocks Rallying On Friday

• Atlassian Corp. TEAM surged by an impressive 19% as the company massively surpassed Street’s estimates in the last quarter, prompting Barclays to raise its price target from $165 to $195.
• Natera Inc. NTRA soared 16% after delivering better-than-expected results in the second quarter.
• Universal Display Corp. OLED rose 11% following its stronger-than-expected earnings and revenues, with both Needham and Deutsche Bank raising their price targets.
• Cloudflare, Inc. NET experienced a 10% rally after it reported stronger-than-anticipated earnings, leading Needham to increase the price target from $75 to $85.
• Amazon Inc. AMZN gained nearly 10%, achieving its strongest daily performance since November 2022 due to a surprise EPS and revenue beat in the last quarter.

5 ETFs Rallying On Friday

• The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLY saw a notable 2.2% increase in stocks within the consumer discretionary sector, largely driven by a surge in the ETF’s heavyweight, Amazon.
• VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF GDXJ experienced a boost of 1.8% in response to rising gold prices that were fueled by a declining dollar.
• iShares MSCI Mexico ETF EWW surged 1.7%, aided by a 1% increase in the value of the Mexican peso.
• First Trust DJ Internet Index Fund FDN rose 1.2%, led by Amazon, Cloudflare and Atlassian.
• iShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Market Bond ETF EMB recorded an impressive 1% gain, marking its best daily performance of the week. A lower U.S. dollar and declining Treasury yields contributed to the strength of emerging market bonds.

Related Link: Atlassian Performs Despite Macro Headwinds: 4 Analysts On Q4 Print, Outlook

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