U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining more than 100 points on Friday.

The Dow traded up 0.32% to 42,145.03 while the NASDAQ rose 0.76% to 18,053.79. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.45% to 5,725.76.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares jumped by 0.7% on Friday.

In trading on Friday, real estate shares dipped by 1.6%.

Top Headline

The U.S. economy added 254,000 jobs in September, compared to a revised 159,000 gain in August, and topping market estimates of 147,000. The unemployment rate declined to 4.1% in September from 4.2% in the previous month.

Equities Trading UP
                       

• Phoenix Motor Inc. PEV shares shot up 127% to $0.79 after the company reported a substantial increase in the first-quarter results.
• Shares of Apogee Enterprises, Inc. APOG got a boost, surging 24% to $84.76 after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results and raised its FY25 adjusted EPS guidance above estimates.
• Beneficient BENF shares were also up, gaining 68% to $1.99 after the company announced its subsidiary, Beneficient Company Holdings, consummated a previously announced transaction pursuant to which approximately $126 million of its preferred equity was redesignated as non-redeemable.

Equities Trading DOWN

• AMTD Digital Inc. HKD shares dropped 17% to $4.3411.
• Shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. ZIM were down 13% to $18.93.
• Spirit Airlines, Inc. SAVE was down, falling 27% to $1.63 following a report suggesting that the company is exploring the potential of filing for bankruptcy.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.2% to $74.62 while gold traded down 0.4% at $2,667.50.

Silver traded down 1.3% to $32.055 on Friday, while copper rose 0.4% to $4.5720.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.48%, Germany’s DAX rose 0.64% and France’s CAC 40 climbed 1.15%. Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.24%, while London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.21%.

The S&P Global UK construction PMI jumped to 57.2 in September compared to 53.6 in the previous month, while France construction PMI declined to 37.9 in September from 40.1 in the earlier month. The HCOB Eurozone construction PMI climbed to 42.1 in September versus 41.4 in the prior two months.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.22%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gaining 2.82% and India’s BSE Sensex dipping 0.98%.

The HSBC India services PMI was revised downward to 57.7 in September versus a preliminary reading of 58.9. The S&P Global Hong Kong SAR PMI surged to 50.0 in September compared to August’s reading of 49.4.

Economics

The U.S. economy added 254,000 jobs in September, compared to a revised 159,000 gain in August, and topping market estimates of 147,000. The unemployment rate declined to 4.1% in September from 4.2% in the previous month.

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