U.S. Employment Data Boosts Market Sentiment as Bitcoin Surges

U.S. Jobs Report Highlights: Non-Farm Payrolls Surge

On October 7, BlockBeats reported a surprising update regarding the U.S. economy. The September non-farm payrolls revealed a remarkable increase of 254,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate dropping to 4.1%. This unexpected data has strengthened the belief in a stable economic soft landing, resulting in a shift away from expectations of a significant interest rate cut in November.

Market Reactions: Stock Indexes See Gains

Boosted by the anticipation of a healthy economic outlook, the U.S. stock market responded positively. On Friday, major indices opened higher and closed with notable gains:

• S&P 500: Increased by 0.90%, registering a weekly rise of 0.22%.
• Nasdaq: Gained 1.22%, with a weekly gain of 0.1%.
• Dow Jones: Climbed 0.81%, showing a slight weekly increase of 0.09%.

The China concept stock index also performed exceptionally well, surging over 3% and nearly 12% for the week.

Cryptocurrency Market Update

The cryptocurrency sector followed the positive trend in the stock market. Notably:

• Bitcoin: Rose back above $63,000, trading at $63,859 at the time of reporting, which has narrowed its weekly decline to 1.03%.
• Ethereum: Priced at $2,507, its weekly drop was reduced to 4.18%.

Foreign Exchange and Commodities Market Analysis

In the foreign exchange arena, safe-haven demand along with positive economic indicators spurred the U.S. dollar index to climb for five consecutive days, reaching a seven-week high. Non-U.S. currencies took a hit as:

• The euro decreased by 1.8% against the dollar for the week.
• The British pound fell by 2%.

This strong employment data has diminished expectations for a notable rate cut from the Federal Reserve, leading to a rebound in both the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields, consequently putting pressure on gold prices.

Spot Gold: Experienced a weekly decline of 0.5%, thus ending a three-week winning streak.

Oil Prices Rise Amid Middle East Tensions

Concerns over potential supply disruptions due to escalating tensions in the Middle East have contributed to an increase in oil prices. In the past week, Brent crude rose by over 9%.

This Week’s Market Focus

Looking ahead, the market's attention will be on key economic events, including:

• The release of the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes.
• September U.S. inflation data.
• Earnings reports from major banks, which will provide essential economic insights.

Moreover, developments regarding the situation in the Middle East will be closely monitored as they could significantly influence market dynamics.