Wall Street closed higher on Friday after the US economy added just 29,000 jobs in September, far fewer than expected, pulling Treasury yields down and cooling bets on another Federal Reserve rate hike. Technology shares led the gains, with the Nasdaq rising about 1%, while European indexes also rebounded from multi-month lows.
Today’s numbers
| Market | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,723 | +0.7% |
| Nasdaq Composite | ≈27,190 | about +1% |
| Dow Jones | ≈51,250 | +0.5% (about 250 points) |
| Euro Stoxx 50 | ≈6,239 | +1.0% |
| DAX | 25,231 | +1.2% |
| IBEX 35 | 19,085 | +0.4% |
| US 10-year Treasury yield | ≈5.18% | down about 6 bp |
| EUR/USD | ≈1.126 | +0.2% |
| Brent crude | ≈$103/bbl | little changed |
| WTI crude | ≈$91/bbl | little changed (mixed reports) |
| US natural gas | ≈$3.00/MMBtu | slightly higher |
| Gold | ≈$4,220/oz | about +1% |
| Bitcoin | ≈$86,500–87,000 | about +3% |
Figures are closing or late-session levels, rounded where sources differed slightly. Oil prices are for front-month futures, which were reported with mixed changes.
What moved markets
The day belonged to the September jobs report. Nonfarm payrolls rose by only 29,000, against forecasts of around 90,000, and August was revised down to 133,000 from 162,000. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.2% from 4.1%. Economist Mohamed El-Erian described the report as weak across the board on labour demand.
For investors who had spent the week worrying about rising borrowing costs, a softer job market was read as good news. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to about 5.18%, easing back from levels not seen in more than two decades, and CME FedWatch data showed the odds of a rate hike at this month’s Fed meeting dropping sharply, to well under a quarter, from roughly two in three a week earlier.
Lower yields gave growth stocks room to run. Chipmakers outperformed, and Nvidia touched a fresh record high during the session, lifting its market value above $5.7 trillion. Other notable moves among large caps:
- Tesla gained about 5% after third-quarter deliveries of 486,532 vehicles beat analyst estimates of roughly 463,000.
- Nike fell about 5% after fiscal first-quarter revenue of $11.21 billion missed expectations and the company warned revenue would decline in fiscal 2027, alongside job cuts.
- Seagate and Western Digital each slid around 10% after Toshiba said it would double its hard-drive production capacity, raising fears of more competition.
- Synaptics jumped after ON Semiconductor revised its takeover offer to an all-cash deal at $123 a share.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 rose about 0.6% and Germany’s DAX gained 1.2%, led by Infineon, which surged nearly 9%. Spain’s IBEX 35 added 0.4% but still posted its worst week since April, down about 3.1%, as banks struggled. Flash data showed eurozone inflation accelerating to 3.8% in September, its highest since 2023, keeping pressure on the European Central Bank.
Energy & commodities
Brent crude held above $100 a barrel and is up nearly 60% from a year ago. Prices were pulled in two directions: Group of Seven countries agreed to release up to 100 million barrels of emergency reserves over four months, while the US said it was sending a third aircraft carrier group to the Middle East. Reports of the day’s change varied, so we describe oil as roughly flat.
US natural gas hovered around $3 per MMBtu but fell more than 6% over the week, as record production and mild weather reduced demand. For households, that is a modest bright spot heading into the heating season, even as gasoline and heating oil stay expensive with crude near current levels. If you are weighing how to heat your home this winter, our guide to heat pump vs. furnace costs compares the options.
Gold rose about 1% to around $4,220 an ounce as lower yields and a weaker dollar made the metal more attractive. Bitcoin gained about 3%, trading near $87,000.
What to watch tomorrow
US markets are closed over the weekend, so attention turns to next week. The key question is whether this weak jobs number is enough to keep the Fed on hold. Several economists noted that upcoming consumer and producer price data could matter more for the October decision than payrolls. Expect Fed officials’ comments to be scrutinised for any shift in tone, and watch whether Treasury yields keep retreating from their recent highs.
In Europe, markets will be digesting the jump in inflation and what it means for a possible ECB rate rise later this year. Oil traders will follow developments in the Middle East and the pace of G7 reserve releases. See our economic calendar for the full schedule of data releases.
Sources
- TheStreet – Stock Market Today, Oct. 2, 2026
- Investing.com / Reuters – Soft September jobs report sends markets higher
- Yahoo Finance – September jobs report live updates
- Trading Economics – US stock market
- finanzen.ch – Aktien Frankfurt Schluss
- Yahoo Finance / Reuters – European shares rebound
- El Periódico de Ceuta – IBEX 35 close
- Kitco – Gold after the jobs report
- Trading Economics – Brent crude
- Trading Economics – Natural gas
- CoinDesk – Bitcoin live updates
This is general market information, not investment advice. Data may be delayed.
Written by The Daily Economy editorial team with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Read our editorial policy.