U.S. equities and the dollar strengthened following a promising U.S. jobs report for January. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 353,000 for the month, almost double the 180,000 projection from economists polled by Reuters.
Still, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has quashed market hopes for a near-term interest rate cut, with Charles Schwab senior investment strategist Kevin Gordon noting that the market has misread the Fed’s near-term policy trajectory.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six other major currencies, rose 0.83% to a seven-week high following the release of the blowout jobs report. The euro slipped 0.74% against the dollar to $1.0792 while the yen fell 1.24% to 148.29 per dollar.
Stocks on the benchmark S&P 500 climbed 1.07% following the jobs announcement, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.74%. Both indexes were previously on a positive trajectory following positive earnings reports from Amazon.com and Meta Platforms.