(Bloomberg) — US stocks rallied after data allayed fears of a supercharged jobs market that would support a more aggressive policy path. Treasury yields ticked lower and a gauge of the dollar declined.
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The S&P 500 recovered all of the losses suffered in the previous two days, with more than 95% of its shares advancing albeit in thin holiday trading. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperformed, with gains approaching 3%. Tesla Inc. climbed more than 9%, with tech giants including Apple Inc. Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. also among the biggest gainers. Asian technology stocks gained earlier amid signs China is easing a regulatory crackdown.
Investors took solace in US jobs data that failed to hold any unwanted surprises, while underscoring the resilience of the labor market in the face of Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary tightening. Initial unemployment claims rose slightly to 225,000, inline with expectations, in the week ended Dec. 24. Continuing claims rose to 1.7 million in the week ended Dec. 17, the most since early February.
The rally is a ray of light as a dismal year for stocks and bonds draws to a close. Global equities have lost a fifth of their value in 2022, the largest decline since 2008 on an annual basis, with tech bearing the brunt of the selloff. An index of global bonds has slumped 16% amid sticky inflation and rising interest rates.
Read more: From Meta to Coinbase: The Stocks That Torched Traders in 2022
“I’m actually not so afraid of tech,” Sylvia Jablonski, CEO and CIO at Defiance ETFs, said on Bloomberg TV. “I do think you’re going to see a recovery later in the year in a lot of these stocks and I think that investors are a little bit too afraid of them right now. They’re going to miss out on a rebound opportunity in the next let’s say 6-9 months.”
Stocks are rebounding after a selloff Wednesday as the focus shifted to risks from the spread of Covid-19. The US said it would require inbound airline passengers from China to show a negative Covid-19 test prior to entry. In Italy, health officials said they would test arrivals from China after almost half of passengers on two flights from China to Milan were found to have the virus.
Read more: Yardeni Says Stock Bulls Have ‘Narrow Path’ to Victory in 2023
Hong Kong removed limits on gatherings and testing for travelers in a further unwinding of its last major Covid rules, offering a boost to the global economy but also sparking concerns it would amplify inflation pressures and prompt US policy makers to maintain tight monetary settings.
More market commentary
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Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded The Sevens Report newsletter:
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“Markets enter 2023 at important transition points. One path is paved with continued disinflation, resilient earnings, moderating growth, a balanced labor market, and higher stock and bond prices. The other path is paved with sticky inflation, slowing growth, a continued tight labor market and lower stock and bond prices. Data points at the start of the year will offer important clues as to which path the markets are taking.”
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Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank:
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“Going into the new year, I think investors are going to be focusing on the same things we were focusing on this year and that’s where the central banks are going to take interest rates, and are the inflation numbers going to force them to continue to be very aggressive with the rate hikes or will we see the cooling off that is expected and therefore will we see the markets rebound because the Fed takes a less aggressive stance. Another focus going into the New Year is China, China with the reopening.”
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Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at Oanda Europe Ltd.:
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“Investors are going into 2023 with a cautious mindset, prepared for more rate hikes, and expecting recessions around the globe. And then there’s China and its u-turn on Covid prevention. It’s been quite the shift from fighting every case to living with the virus and that creates enormous uncertainty for the start of the year.”
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Elsewhere in markets, oil extended losses after US data showed a rise in crude stockpiles and concerns mounted that a rapid surge of infections in China would slow demand in one of the world’s top oil importers.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
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The S&P 500 rose 1.9% as of 12:30 p.m. New York time
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The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.6%
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2%
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The MSCI World index rose 1.3%
Currencies
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The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.5%
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The euro rose 0.5% to $1.0669
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The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.2058
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The Japanese yen rose 1% to 133.16 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
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Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $16,617.95
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Ether rose 1.1% to $1,199.28
Bonds
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The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined five basis points to 3.83%
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Germany’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 2.44%
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Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.66%
Commodities
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West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.5% to $77.81 a barrel
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Gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,825.40 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Richard Henderson, Peyton Forte and Robert Brand.
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