Nasdaq 100 hits record as US jobs slow to 29,000

US equity indices climbed on October 2 after labor data showed a sharp deceleration in employment growth, softening market expectations for further Federal Reserve rate increases. The Nasdaq 100 rose 1% to reach a fresh record, and the Nasdaq Composite closed near an all-time high. The S&P 500 gained 0.73%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.49%.

The United States added 29,000 jobs in September, falling below all forecasts compiled by Bloomberg, accompanied by downward revisions to the prior two months. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, and the labor force participation rate reached 61.8%, a four-month high. Average hourly earnings rose 0.1% month-over-month and 3% year-over-year, which represents the slowest annual wage growth since 2021. Payrolls declined in government, information, professional and business services, and financial activities, while healthcare, construction, manufacturing, and leisure and hospitality added positions.

The cooling labor figures diminished expectations for a rate hike at the central bank's October meeting. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson, New York Fed President John Williams, and Governor Michelle Bowman previously indicated that policymakers have time to evaluate incoming data. Treasury yields erased earlier declines during the session, leaving the 10-year yield near its highest level since 2002.

In equity markets, Nvidia shares rose up to 2.9% to reach a record market valuation near 5.7 trillion dollars, supported by optimism around artificial intelligence hardware demand and a 150 billion dollar expansion to its share repurchase authorization. In commodities, West Texas Intermediate fell 1.6% to 91.40 dollars per barrel and Brent traded near 102 dollars after the G7 agreed to release up to 100 million barrels of emergency reserves. Gold slipped 1.2% to 4,125.39 dollars an ounce, while bitcoin touched 87,206 dollars before moderating.