The inventory market prolonged this week’s features amid a rally in large tech and as a strong jobs report bolstered the outlook for company earnings.

Equities hit all-time highs, with the S&P 500 topping 4,965 and the Nasdaq 100 up practically 1.9% as of two.30 p.m. in New York, after bullish outlooks from Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.

Financial optimism outweighed bets the Federal Reserve will chorus from chopping charges within the first quarter. Treasury two-year yields jumped 19 foundation factors to 4.39%. The greenback rose towards ranges final seen earlier than the Fed’s December “pivot.”

“As we speak’s jobs report calls into query the narrative of a ‘smooth touchdown’,” mentioned David Donabedian at CIBC Non-public Wealth U.S. “The January jobs report was fairly dramatic, implying there could also be ‘no touchdown.’ The financial system is ripping forward.”

To Neil Dutta at Renaissance Macro Analysis, sturdy progress in labor productiveness means unit labor prices are below management — which is an effective backdrop for company earnings. “It’s exhausting to get too bearish” with such financial resilience, mentioned Bret Kenwell at eToro.

Larry Tentarelli at Blue Chip Every day Pattern Report sees the information as “a really bullish signal for the financial system” — including that “we’re consumers on any short-term weak point in shares.”

“Simply as many had been caught off guard by the recession that by no means appeared in 2023, there’s at all times the chance that one other yr will go by with out a recession,” mentioned Chris Zaccarelli at Impartial Advisor Alliance.

Nonfarm payrolls surged 353,000 final month following upward revisions to the prior two months.

The unemployment fee held at 3.7%. Hourly wages accelerated from a month earlier, growing by probably the most since March 2022. Separate knowledge confirmed US shopper sentiment surged in January from a month earlier by probably the most since 2005.

Whereas indicators of a powerful financial system might proceed to bode properly for company outcomes, they might even be an element delaying the Fed’s fee cuts.

“Effectively, I feel we will formally kiss a March fee reduce goodbye, and greater than seemingly a Might,” mentioned Alex McGrath at NorthEnd Non-public Wealth.

Certainly, Treasury yields soared after Friday’s knowledge strengthened the case for the Fed to defer chopping charges till at the very least the second quarter.

Swap contracts referencing the March Fed assembly date reduce the chances of a quarter-point fee reduce in half, to about 15% — whereas the Might contract not totally priced in a reduce, which it had for greater than a month.

“As we speak’s report reinforces the narrative this week that the Fed doesn’t must rush into fee cuts,” mentioned Jason Pleasure at Glenmede. “A March fee reduce now seems more and more unlikely. The extra seemingly trajectory is two-three cuts this yr starting round summer time.”

Seema Shah at Principal Asset Administration remarks that it wasn’t only a sturdy January. It seems that earlier months had been stronger than initially believed.

“The dramatic upside shock to each jobs and wage progress implies that a March fee reduce have to be off the desk now, and a Might reduce can be now doubtlessly on ice,” she famous.

Following Wednesday’s Fed resolution, Powell mentioned {that a} reduce is unlikely to return on the subsequent gathering in March, which some market members had been betting on. The Fed chief will seem on CBS Information’s 60 Minutes this Sunday to inflation dangers, anticipated fee cuts and the banking system, amongst different subjects, the community mentioned.