The ADP National Employment Report, the key labor gauge in the absence of official government data during the ongoing shutdown, showed that private employers added 42,000 jobs in October, rebounding from the 32,000 jobs lost in September and beating economists’ expectations for a 25,000 gain.
While the uptick signals some resilience, the pace of hiring remains far below robust levels, underscoring continued cooling in the labor market and reinforcing market bets on a Fed rate cut in December.
By midday in New York, the S&P 500 was up 0.9%, the Nasdaq 100 rose 1.1% after Tuesday's 2.2% drop, and small caps led the charge with the Russell 2000 gaining 1.7%.
Among mega-cap movers, Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) extended its post-earnings rally into a fifth straight session, with shares reaching their highest levels since September 2024.
In the tech sector, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) impressed investors with stronger-than-expected results, sending its shares up 2.5% and easing fears of a "sell-the-news" reaction that hit Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) a day earlier.
Crypto markets also rebounded after two days of steep losses that pushed Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) below $100,000. The largest digital currency rallied 2.5% to trade near $104,000, while Ethereum (CRYPTO:
