US stocks trade mixed and bond yields surge after blowout jobs report

• Jobs data came in super hot, sending US stocks lower and bond yields higher.
• The US economy added 353,000 jobs in January, way past expectations of 185,000.
• “Job creation heated up in January, perhaps causing some Federal Reserve officials to break out in a sweat.”

US stocks traded mixed on Friday after a fresh jobs report blew past expectations, forcing investors to rethink their bets on a Fed rate cut.

The economy added 353,000 jobs in January, way past estimates of 185,000. That increase is well above December’s revised numbers of 333,000 jobs added, which rose from an initial estimate of 216,000 jobs. Meanwhile, unemployment remained unchanged, clocking in at 3.7%. 

The data is a sign that the labor market is still running too hot, which could push out the timing of the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate cut. Treasury yields spiked in response to the report, with yields on the 10-year note up 13 basis points, punching past 4%.

“Job creation heated up in January, perhaps causing some Federal Reserve officials to break out in a sweat,” Mark Hamrick, an analyst from Bankrate, said. “This is as they look to gain greater confidence that inflation is coming down at a sustained pace.”

And the news arrived right after a Fed meeting where Jerome Powell said central bank officials need to see a continuation of “good” data before pivoting their policy, and that an interest rate cut is unlikely in March.

“Now, even May is in question,” Hamrick said.

Here’s where US indexes stood as the opening bell at 9:30 a.m. on Friday: 

• S&P 500: 4,914.45, up 0.17%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 38,445.44, down 0.19% (-74.40 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 15,403.17, down 0.27%

Here’s what else is going on:

• Meta and Amazon are set to add $280 billion in combined market cap — more than Netflix is worth.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto: 

• Oil prices dipped, with West Texas Intermediate down 0.95% to $73.12 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, edged lower by 0.65% to $78.19 a barrel.
• Gold fell 0.86% to $2,053.30 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield jumped 13 basis points to 3.993%.
• Bitcoin dropped 1.04% to $42,550.75.