US stocks surge in tech-led rally after red-hot jobs report

• US stocks surged on Friday, led by a tech-fueled rally and a blowout jobs report.
• Meta and Amazon posted strong earnings, driving Meta stock up by 20%.
• The red-hot jobs report shows the US economy is resilient, which is good for corporate earnings.

US stocks got a big boost on Friday, driven by a tech-fueled rally and a blowout jobs report. 

Strong earnings reports from tech giants Amazon and Meta drove the Nasdaq index up 1.9% on Friday. Meta shares got a blockbuster boost of nearly 20%, while Amazon was up 7.5%.

While the jobs report initially infused the market with fear, stocks moved higher as investors interpreted the results as a sign of economic resilience. The US added 353,000 jobs in January, maintaining an unemployment rate of 3.7%.

While a strong economy pushes out the timing for a Fed rate cut, which Jerome Powell already hinted at this week, it bodes well for corporate earnings.

“Today’s jobs report calls into question the narrative of a soft landing for the economy,” David Donabedian from CIBC Private Wealth said. “The January jobs report was pretty dramatic, implying there may be no landing. The economy is ripping ahead.”

Here’s where US indexes stood at the closing bell at 4:00 p.m. on Friday: 

• S&P 500: 4,958.59, up 1.07%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 38,654.62, up 0.35% (+134.78 points) 
• Nasdaq Composite: 15,628.95, up 1.74%

Here’s what else is going on:

• Experts see a narrow path for China to engineer an economic rebound in 2024.
• A Harvard economist said there’s little reason to be optimistic about a soft landing this year as the “runway is in an earthquake zone.”
• Markets are now betting the Fed is going to make a mistake with rate cuts, BofA says.
• More Russian oil ships have been floating at sea with nowhere to go amid sanctions pressure.
• Nvidia could spike another 23% with AI demand still in its infancy, BofA says.
• The stock market is reliving the dot-com tech bubble as the Magnificent 7 stocks account for 45% of S&P 500 gains to start the year.
• Tesla’s board faces a “tornado situation” after Elon Musk’s $55 billion pay package was struck down, analysts say.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto: 

• Oil prices fell, with West Texas Intermediate down 2.26% to $72.18 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, slipped 1.88% to $77.22 a barrel.
• Gold dipped 0.8% to $2,054.60 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield rose 16 basis points to 4.026%.
• Bitcoin rose 0.11% to $43,047.