Overnight US Stocks | Cooling September Nonfarm Payrolls Support Fed's Rate Hike Pause; All Three Major Indexes Close Higher; SpaceX (SPCX.US) Up 7.35%

According to Zhitong Finance APP, all three major US indices closed higher on Friday. Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday showed that non-farm payroll employment in September suddenly dropped to 29,000, and August’s data was revised down to 133,000. July’s employment data was further revised down by 31,000, resulting in a net loss of 10,000 jobs, turning negative. The unemployment rate was 4.1% in August and rose to 4.2% in September. Chicago Fed President Goolsbee stated that the latest employment data indicate the US labor market is stable, but inflation remains the Federal Reserve’s top policy priority. As for whether the Fed should continue raising rates or pause this month, Goolsbee said “any option is well justified and on the table,” and that he hopes to see more evidence that inflation is moving back toward the 2% target.

[US Stock Market] At market close, the Dow Jones rose 250.88 points (+0.49%) to 51,177.44; the S&P 500 climbed 56.32 points (+0.73%) to 7,722.77; the Nasdaq Composite rose 319.27 points (+1.19%) to 27,190.86. SpaceX (SPCX.US) was up 7.35%, Tesla (TSLA.US) gained 4.65%, Dell (DELL.US) increased by 3.8%, Broadcom (AVGO.US) gained 3.35%, ASML (ASML.US) rose 3.25%, Nvidia (NVDA.US) was up 1.34%; Accenture (ACN.US) fell 6.27% and SanDisk dropped 3.79%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell 2.09%, Alibaba (BABA.US) decreased 1.47%, and Baidu (BIDU.US) dropped 1.48%.

[European Stocks] The German DAX30 Index rose 301.79 points (+1.21%) to 25,241.14; the UK FTSE 100 rose 31.68 points (+0.30%) to 10,459.95; the French CAC40 was up 61.88 points (+0.79%) to 7,897.19; the Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 64.30 points (+1.04%) to 6,239.75; Spain’s IBEX35 was up 76.03 points (+0.40%) to 19,081.33; the Italian FTSE MIB gained 252.64 points (+0.50%) to 50,490.50.

[Asia-Pacific Markets] The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.94%, Korea’s KOSPI Index rose 0.46%, and Indonesia’s composite index was up 0.46%.

[Foreign Exchange] The US Dollar Index, measuring the dollar against six major currencies, fell 0.17% that day, closing at 101.933 in New York. At the close of New York forex trading, 1 euro exchanged for $1.1252, up from $1.1235 previously; 1 British pound was worth $1.3239, up from $1.3190 the previous day. 1 US dollar exchanged for 157.80 Japanese yen, lower than 158.11; 1 US dollar was worth 0.8287 Swiss franc, down from 0.8317; 1 US dollar was 1.4259 Canadian dollars, up from 1.4236; 1 US dollar exchanged for 10.0366 Swedish krona, down from 10.0597.

[Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin briefly surpassed $87,000 but erased all gains and turned lower at the time of writing, trading at $84,494; Ethereum fell over 1.4% to $2,665.

[Precious Metals] Spot gold fell 0.89% to $4,139.78/oz; Spot silver fell 0.94% to $60.41/oz.

[Crude Oil] NYMEX November light crude futures fell $1.76 to close at $91.11 a barrel, down 1.9%; December Brent crude futures slid 6 cents to close at $102.25 a barrel, down 0.06%.

[Macro News]

US Department of Justice will not restart criminal investigation into Powell. US Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the Justice Department will not reopen the criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve Chair Powell. The Federal Reserve Inspector General released an investigation report this week, finding no evidence of criminal conduct by Powell regarding the cost overrun of the Fed’s headquarters renovation to $2.4 billion. Blanche expressed satisfaction with the report, but believed Powell failed to properly supervise the project. The Federal Reserve said it will hire an independent auditor to further review the renovation costs. Blanche stated that if subsequent audits find any evidence of criminal activity, the Department of Justice may still initiate an investigation.

US nonfarm payrolls rose by only 29,000 in September, as employers were cautious about hiring amid rising costs. US job gains in September were below expectations, with unemployment ticking higher, indicating employers are cautious about hiring as costs rise. According to data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, nonfarm payrolls increased by 29,000 last month after downward revisions to previous months’ data. The number was below economists’ forecasts in institutional surveys. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, partly reflecting an expanding labor force. Slower job growth was mainly driven by declines in government, information, professional and business services, and financial activities. Healthcare, construction, and manufacturing saw job gains. Robust consumer spending and strong business investment supported hiring, but many cost-conscious employers were reluctant to expand staff. However, layoffs remain at low levels. As unemployment remains near historic lows, Federal Reserve officials may continue to focus on inflation when considering when to raise rates again.

Trump: No diesel export ban, Europe to increase diesel supply. US President Trump stated that he has asked Europe to release more diesel supply to help ease fuel price pressure and that the US will not implement a diesel export ban. Trump said: “I made this request. Europe has a huge supply of diesel, and they will make a significant contribution to the world, and so will we.” He said that as the Iran conflict ends, oil supply will rise and prices will soon fall back to pre-conflict levels, possibly even lower than when he first took office. When asked if he ruled out imposing diesel export restrictions on Europe, Trump said the US has good relations with Europe, and Europe is willing to participate because it has substantial diesel reserves.

CME suspends launch of 10-barrel crude oil futures contract. CME Group announced the suspension of the planned launch of the 10-barrel crude oil futures contract, which was designed to support 24-hour continuous trading. CME Board Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy stated that the product was intended to provide a US-regulated alternative to the market's existing 24/7 crude oil contracts, but after communicating with industry participants, some key market players expressed concerns about the potential unforeseen consequences and market risks of introducing energy futures with around-the-clock trading without further evaluation. Therefore, CME decided to withdraw the application. CME also urged the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to address regulatory differences between trading venues and ensure derivatives comply with Commodity Exchange Act requirements.

[Stock News]

Google raises Pixel 10a price by $100 due to rising storage chip costs. Google (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US) has raised the price of the budget Pixel 10a by $100 to $599 just seven months after launch, reflecting persistent storage chip shortages that are driving up consumer electronics costs and affecting older models as well. This week, Samsung also increased the price of most Galaxy S26 models by $100; Apple (AAPL.US) last month priced the newly launched iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max above previous generations and raised the prices of some older models. When Google launched the Pixel 11 series this August, prices were also generally $100 higher than the prior generation, though increased base storage helped offset the price increase.

Tesla quarterly deliveries beat expectations. Tesla (TSLA.US) announced on Friday that third-quarter deliveries exceeded Wall Street’s expectations, thanks to a recovery in Europe after sluggish sales last year. Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles in Q3, surpassing the consensus estimate of 456,896. These figures suggest that after two consecutive years of annual sales declines, Tesla’s core auto business may be stabilizing. Tesla needs to deliver at least 311,448 vehicles in the fourth quarter to avoid a third straight year of annual delivery declines. Analysts expect Tesla’s gradually expanding rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) software in Europe to boost sales further. Currently, FSD is approved for use in eight countries.

[Major Bank Ratings]

UBS: lowers Nike (NKE.US) target price from $42 to $34; lowers Pepsi (PEP.US) target price from $159 to $145.