Tech lifts stocks hours away from Apple earnings: Markets wrap

(Bloomberg) — The world's largest technology companies led a stock market rebound ahead of Apple Inc.'s earnings, with Wall Street traders also bracing for Friday's key jobs report.

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Stocks halted a two-day decline, with Nvidia Corp. leading gains in chipmakers and Apple rising 1.5%. Wall Street expects the iPhone maker to announce a buyback, following in the footsteps of big tech companies Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. Any news related to AI features could provide additional excitement for the stock, which is down more than 10% this year.

In the run-up to the monthly employment report, data showed that US labor costs jumped by the most in a year as productivity gains slowed, raising the risk of inflation remaining high. Economists polled by Bloomberg expected a 240,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls, the slowest pace since November.

The Federal Reserve decided on Wednesday to leave its interest rate target range at 5.25% to 5.5% after a series of data that indicated continued price pressures. Jerome Powell said the Fed's next move is unlikely to be to raise interest rates.

“While the Fed appears to have ruled out raising interest rates, it has also made clear it wants to keep interest rates high for longer,” said Chris Larkin of Morgan Stanley's E*Trade. “Markets will be hungry for any data that suggests the economy is not accelerating further than it was in the first quarter.”

The S&P 500 is hovering near 5040. The Nasdaq 100 is up nearly 1%. Qualcomm, the world's largest smartphone processor vendor, rose on upbeat expectations. EBay Inc. declined. Because of disappointing expectations. 10-year Treasury yields fell three basis points to 4.60%. The dollar fell.

The options market is betting that stocks will swing widely after Friday's US jobs report, which traders expect will provide more clarity on how much the Fed will cut interest rates this year.

The S&P 500 is expected to move 1.2% in either direction after the release, based on the cost of buy and sell trades that expire on Friday, according to Stuart Kaiser, head of U.S. equity trading strategy at Citigroup.

That figure, based on extended Standard & Poor's prices through Wednesday's close, is the largest implied swing ahead of an employment report since March 2023, he said.

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Savita Subramanian, of Bank of America Corp, says a strong economy will maintain the bull market trend in US stocks even without interest rate cuts by the Fed.

“I think we're headed toward a soft landing, with a reasonable market environment, probably better growth going forward than we're used to, higher interest rates and a little bit higher inflation,” Subramanian said Thursday on Bloomberg TV.

The company's most prominent features:

• Peloton Interactive said CEO Barry McCarthy will step down as the company undergoes a major restructuring that will cut its global workforce by 15% in an effort to cut costs.

• MGM Resorts International reported first-quarter sales and profits that beat analysts' expectations, riding on a post-pandemic recovery in Macau and a new partnership with Marriott International that helped fill hotel rooms.

• Carvana reported stronger earnings as revenue beat expectations as the company digs deeper into a restructuring plan and regains sales momentum.

• DoorDash Inc., the largest U.S. food delivery service, offered a disappointing earnings outlook for the current quarter as the company invests in expanding its roster of non-restaurant partners and improving efficiency.

• Moderna Inc. announced It reported a lower first-quarter loss than Wall Street had expected, as the biotech giant's cost-cutting helped offset a sharp decline in its coronavirus-related business.

• Apollo Global Management Inc. announced Reported higher earnings in the first quarter as the company took in more management fees and established a record $40 billion in private credit, a key area of ​​growth.

Main events this week:

• Unemployment in the eurozone, Friday

• US Unemployment, Nonfarm Payrolls Report, ISM Services, Friday

• Chicago Fed President Austin Goolsbee speaks Friday

Some key movements in the markets:

Stores

• The S&P 500 rose 0.5% as of 12:01 PM New York time

• The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8%.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%

• The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell by 0.2%.

• MSCI World Index rose 0.6%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.6%.

• There was little change in the euro at $1.0706

• The British pound fell 0.2 percent to $1.2507

• The Japanese yen rose 0.5 percent to 153.84 yen to the dollar

Digital currencies

• Bitcoin rose 3.3% to $59,212.34

• Ethereum rose 1.7% to $2,985.99

Bonds

• The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell three basis points to 4.60%.

• The yield on 10-year German bonds fell by four basis points to 2.54%.

• The UK 10-year bond yield fell eight basis points to 4.29%.

Goods

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6% to $78.49 a barrel

• Gold in spot transactions fell 0.9 percent to $2,298.63 per ounce

This story was produced with assistance from Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Ryan Vlastelica and Jessica Minton.

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