New York Stocks Open Higher as Investors Digest Nvidia Earnings and September Jobs Report

(Seoul=Yonhap Infomax) Jeong Won Yoon = The three major U.S. stock indexes opened higher as investors digested Nvidia Corp.'s earnings release and the September jobs report.

As of 09:59 local time on the 20th, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 655.11 points, or 1.42%, at 46,793.88 on the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500 Index rose 123.06 points, or 1.85%, to 6,765.22, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 552.45 points, or 2.45%, to 23,116.68.

After the market closed the previous day, Nvidia reported fiscal third-quarter results that beat market expectations, fueling a rally in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks.

Nvidia announced that revenue for the fiscal third quarter (August–October) surged 62% year-on-year to $57.01 billion, marking an all-time high and surpassing consensus estimates.

Revenue from the data segment also hit a record $51.2 billion, up 66% from a year earlier.

Nvidia provided fourth-quarter (November–January) revenue guidance of $65 billion, also above the market forecast of $61.66 billion.

Nvidia shares jumped more than 4% on the day, with other big tech stocks following suit.

Alphabet Inc. rose 2.88%, Tesla Inc. climbed 4.61%, and Meta Platforms Inc. advanced more than 2%.

The September nonfarm payrolls report, which had been delayed due to the temporary U.S. federal government shutdown, was also released.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 119,000 in September, far exceeding the market expectation of a 50,000 gain.

The September unemployment rate was 4.4%, above the forecast of 4.3% and the highest since October 2021 (4.5%).

According to the weekly jobless claims report, initial claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending the 15th totaled 220,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis, below the market estimate of 232,000.

However, continuing claims for the week ending the 8th reached 1.974 million, the highest since November 6, 2021.

Daniel Newman, CEO of The Futurum Group, commented, "Currently, bearish sentiment is collapsing and AI trading is very robust. Moreover, margins are strong and concerns over China have dissipated."

Nancy Vanden Houten, lead economist at Oxford Economics, said, "The September jobs report is backward-looking, but it provided relief that the labor market did not collapse before the shutdown. There was nothing in the data to change our forecast that the Fed will hold rates steady at the December FOMC meeting."

All sectors posted gains on the day.

U.S. retailer Walmart Inc. surged more than 4% on the back of solid third-quarter results and guidance.

Cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks Inc. fell more than 1% after announcing the acquisition of cloud management company Chronosphere for $3.35 billion.

U.S. cosmetics company Bath & Body Works Inc. plunged more than 20% after third-quarter results missed expectations. Adjusted EPS for the third quarter was $0.35, below the market estimate of $0.39, and revenue was $1.59 billion, also missing the consensus of $1.63 billion.

European stocks also traded higher.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index was up 1.40% at 5,619.60. The UK's FTSE 100 Index rose 0.61%, while France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX gained 0.99% and 1.17%, respectively.

International oil prices were also on the rise.

At the same time, front-month December West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 0.77% at $59.90 per barrel.

jwyoon2@yna.co.kr

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