Nasdaq Turns Lower; Crude Oil Rises Sharply

U.S. stocks traded mixed midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite turning lower on Friday.

The Dow traded up 0.06% to 32,019.32 while the NASDAQ fell 0.37% to 10,304.29. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.03% to 3,718.74.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Materials shares gained 2.1% on Friday. Leading the sector was strength from Perimeter Solutions, SA PRM and Gold Fields Limited GFI.

In trading on Friday, utilities shares tumbled by 1%.

Top Headline

 

The U.S. economy added 261,000 jobs last month, beating average economist estimates of 205,000 jobs. The U.S. unemployment rate came in at 3.7%, missing the 3.5% level economists had projected.

Wages were up 4.7% year-over-year and increased 0.4% from September.

Equities Trading UP

 

• Willdan Group, Inc. WLDN shares shot up 20% to $15.58 following strong Q3 results. Willdan was also awarded an $11 million contract with Azusa Unified School District.
• Shares of Peak Bio, Inc. PKBO got a boost, shooting 122% to $8.44. Peak Bio reported closing of up to $100 million common stock purchase transaction with White Lion Capital. Ladenburg Thalmann initiated coverage on Peak Bio with a Buy rating and announced a price target of $15.
• TransMedics Group, Inc. TMDX shares were also up, gaining 21% to $54.73 after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 EPS and sales results. The company also raised its FY22 sales guidance above analyst estimates.

 

Equities Trading DOWN

• Funko, Inc. FNKO shares tumbled 54% to $8.97 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q3 EPS results.
• Shares of Pulmonx Corporation LUNG were down 56% to $5.45 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q3 sales results.
• Syneos Health, Inc. SYNH was down, falling 49% to $24.57 after the company posted downbeat Q3 results and lowered FY22 guidance.

Also check out: Kellogg, Palo Alto Networks, Roku And Other Big Losers From Thursday

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 3.7% to $91.43 while gold traded up 2.6% at $1,674.00.

Silver traded up 6.2% to $20.635 on Friday while copper rose 7.2% to $3.6740.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 1.93%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 2.1% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.1%. The German DAX jumped 2.56%, French CAC 40 climbed 2.86% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index jumped 2.55%.

The producer price inflation in the Eurozone fell to 41.9% year-over-year in September from 43.4% in the previous month, while the S&P Global services PMI was revised higher to 48.6 in October versus a preliminary level of 48.2. Spain’s consumer confidence indicator declined by 1 point from the previous month to 54.7 in October, while services PMI rose to 49.7 in October from 48.5 in September.

UK’s construction PMI climbed to 53.2 in October from 52.3 in the prior month. The S&P Global Services PMI for Germany rose to 46.5 in October versus a preliminary level of 44.9. French services PMI was revised higher to 51.7 in October versus a flash level of 51.3, while industrial production in the country declined by 0.8% from the prior month in September.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Friday, with the Japan’s Nikkei dropping 1.68% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumping 5.36%. China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 2.43%.

China's current account surplus increased to $144.0 billion in the third quarter from $82.6 billion in the year-ago period. The au Jibun Bank Japanese services PMI rose to 53.2 in October from a preliminary reading of 53.0. Retail sales in Australia increased by 0.6% month-over-month to AUD 35.10 billion during September, while construction PMI in the country fell to 43.30 points in October from 46.50 points in the previous month.

Economics

The U.S. economy added 261,000 jobs last month, beating average economist estimates of 205,000 jobs. The U.S. unemployment rate came in at 3.7%, missing the 3.5% level economists had projected.

Check out this: Fear & Greed Index Moves To 'Neutral' Zone Ahead Of US NFP Report

COVID-19 Update

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 99,580,090 cases with around 1,097,880 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,658,360 cases and 530,470 deaths, while France reported over 36,890,620 COVID-19 cases with 157,190 deaths. In total, there were at least 636,987,890 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,602,170 deaths.