Stock Market Today: Stocks Swing Wildly After October Jobs Data
The major indexes ended with their first win of the week thanks to the latest jobs report.


The latest jobs report sent markets on a wild ride Friday.
Early this morning, the October jobs report showed that nonfarm payrolls rose by 261,000 last month, well above economists' consensus estimate for 193,000. On the plus side, this marked a sharp decline from the 315,000 jobs added in September. Additionally, the unemployment rate edged up to 3.7% from September's 3.5%.
"The initial reading is indicating that the U.S. economy has been quite resilient in the face of the multiple rate hikes by the Fed," says Ziad Gergi, senior fund manager at Hargreaves Lansdown. "In addition, the interesting reading was on the [month-over-month] average hourly earnings that came slightly above expectation at +0.4% (versus 0.3%) indicating a continued wage inflation."

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network, gave "two cheers" to this jobs report. There was "enough growth to keep the economy, and earnings, going, but enough slowing that the Fed and markets can plausibly see a pause sometime in the next six months or so," McMillan says. "This isn't a perfect Goldilocks report, not too hot and not too cold, but it is as close as we were going to get."
And Wall Street eventually agreed. Stocks initially sailed higher after the report, only to swing into negative territory by lunchtime. However, a late-day burst of buying power had the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closing up 1.3% at 10,475, while the broader S&P 500 Index (+1.4% at 3,770) and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.3% at 32,403) also ended the day higher. It was the first win of the week for all three indexes.
What's In Store for Markets Next Week?
A busy earnings calendar, for one, with results from Walt Disney (DIS), Beyond Meat (BYND) and Bumble (BMBL) among the reports on tap. The results of Tuesday's midterm elections will certainly be in focus, too. However, the big event will likely be Thursday morning's release of the October consumer price index. In September, consumer price inflation showed no signs of slowing down – and many on Wall Street aren't expecting that to change this time around.
"We estimate that inflationary pressures remained robust, with core once again supported by very strong shelter inflation and idiosyncratic factors providing headwinds," says Barclays economist Jonathan Hill. "We forecast price growth across food, energy, and core services." The economist adds that declining used car prices will help offset some of those headwinds.
We've discussed many times in this space ways in which investors can position their portfolios to protect against high inflation. These include taking positions in firms found within "inflation-resistant" sectors, i.e., those providing goods and services that people will buy no matter what, like consumer staples and healthcare. Another option is to target the best dividend stocks. As for investors looking to optimize the income portion of their equity income holdings, look no farther than the top high-paying dividend stocks. Not all these names are created equal, but the 10 stocks featured here all have solid fundamentals and boast dividend yields of at least 5%.
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Married? Five Ways to Ensure Your Estate Plans Work in Tandem
Getting on the same page now means fewer potential problems when it counts.
By Kiplinger Advisor Collective
-
12 Investments No Retiree Should Make
In retirement, when it's wise to take fewer risks with your nest egg, some investments are just nuts.
By David Rodeck
-
Stock Market Today: Trump Retreats, Markets Rejoice
Stocks rally, yields soften, the dollar rises, and even beaten-down names enjoy the wages of potential trade peace.
By David Dittman
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Soar on China Trade Talk Hopes
Treasury Secretary Bessent said current U.S.-China trade relations are unsustainable and signaled hopes for negotiations.
By Karee Venema
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Drops 971 Points as Powell Pressure Ramps Up
President Trump is increasing his attacks against Jerome Powell, insisting the Fed chair cut interest rates.
By Karee Venema
-
Stock Market Today: No 'Powell Put'? No Problem
Investors, traders and speculators look beyond both another Trump post and more signs of slowing economic activity.
By David Dittman
-
What Is the Buffett Indicator?
"It is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong," writes Carveth Read in "Logic: Deductive and Inductive." That's the premise of the Buffett Indicator.
By Charles Lewis Sizemore, CFA
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Drops 699 Points After Powell Speech
Fed Chair Powell warned of a slowing economy and higher inflation but said the central bank isn't ready to cut rates just yet.
By Karee Venema
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Struggle Amid Tariff Uncertainty
Boeing dropped after China suspended new aircraft orders, while Bank of America and Citi climbed on earnings beats.
By Karee Venema
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Gain on Tech, Auto Tariff Talk
The Trump administration said late Friday that it will temporarily halt tariffs on some Chinese tech imports.
By Karee Venema