According to BlockBeats, on October 7, the U.S. September non-farm payrolls report revealed an unexpected increase of 254,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate dropping to 4.1%. This data reinforced expectations of a healthy economic soft landing and led the market to retract bets on a significant interest rate cut in November.
Boosted by the soft landing expectations, U.S. stocks opened higher and closed with gains on Friday. The S&P 500 rose by 0.90%, ending the week up 0.22%. The Nasdaq increased by 1.22%, with a weekly gain of 0.1%, while the Dow Jones climbed 0.81%, showing a slight weekly rise of 0.09%. The China concept stock index surged over 3% and nearly 12% for the week. The cryptocurrency market followed suit, with Bitcoin climbing back above $63,000, trading at $63,859 at the time of reporting, narrowing its weekly decline to 1.03%. Ethereum was priced at $2,507, with its weekly drop narrowing to 4.18%.
In the foreign exchange and commodities markets, safe-haven demand and positive economic data pushed the U.S. dollar index to rise for five consecutive days, reaching a seven-week high. Non-U.S. currencies fell, with the euro down 1.8% against the dollar for the week and the British pound down 2%. The robust employment data eliminated expectations of a significant rate cut by the Federal Reserve in November, causing both the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields to rebound, which pressured gold prices. Spot gold fell 0.5% for the week, ending a three-week winning streak. Concerns over potential supply disruptions due to escalating Middle East tensions led to a five-day rise in oil prices, with Brent crude gaining over 9% for the week.
This week's market focus will be on the release of the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes, September U.S. inflation data, and earnings reports from major banks, which will provide crucial economic insights. Additionally, developments in the Middle East situation will be closely monitored.
