12:00pm (EST)
On a number that will be debated all weekend, the unemployment rate fell to 7.8% for September, down from a previous 8.1% for August. The Nonfarm Payrolls report showed 114,000 jobs were added last month versus expectations for a print of 110,000. It is the first time in nearly 4 years the unemployment rate has fallen below 8% and the first time since Obama took office.
Of course, after 44 months of an unemployment rate over 8%, the conspiracy theorists are all over this one. And, given the President’s lousy performance on Wednesday night against Romney, it does seem a little surprising, huh?
We will keep our opinions to ourselves on if we believe these numbers were fudged or sugarcoated but all we care about is price action and how it affects the stock market.
The bulls had a nice lead coming into today’s session and it will take a second half miracle by the bears to even the score for the week. The indexes are off their highs and it remains to be seen if the gains will hold but the bulls are in good shape to snap a 2-week losing streak.
Third-quarter earnings season starts on Tuesday with Alcoa (AA, $9.25, up $0.18) having the official/ unofficial honor. We aren’t sure why the company is Wall Street’s chosen one to get the ball rolling but the stock’s behavior does offer market clues on which way the market could be headed. We will talk more about this in the Weekly Wrap and on Monday morning.
The stock market is open on Monday but the bond market will be closed for Columbus Day so we will be doing business as usual with regular updates.
The bulls have cleared resistance for the most part as the major indexes are up 0.4%, on average. The key will be the close, especially for Tech and the Financial stocks.
The Dow is up 50 points to 13,625 while the S&P is showing a gain of 5 points to 1,466. The Nasdaq is also higher by 5 points to 3,154. A close above 1,475 on the S&P would be bullish for next week and 3,175 on the Nasdaq. The Dow needs to hold 13,600.
We have some last minute updates before the weekend hits, including a Profit Alert on a trade that is up nearly 50%, so let’s go check the tape. We will be back on Sunday night with the Weekly Wrap and on Monday morning with the Daily. Until then, have a sweet weekend, everyone!