The S&P 500 edged higher on Friday after an expectation-defying jobs report left investors wondering what's next for the path of interest rates.

The broad index rose 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 150 points, or 0.4%, after surging more than 300 points at session highs.

Stocks initially rallied after data showed nonfarm payrolls grew by 254,000 jobs in September, far outpacing the forecasted gain of 150,000 from economists polled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% despite expectations for it to hold steady at 4.2%.

But stocks pulled off highs as investors realized the blockbuster report lessened the possibility the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again by a half point in November — something traders have been clamoring for. Rising bond yields also capped upside, with the 10-year's at one point nearing 4%.

"The Fed should be in no rush now in its campaign to get rates closer to neutral over the next year," said Jason Pride, Glenmede's investment strategy and research chief. "The bottom does not appear to be falling out of the labor market."

Tesla, Amazon and Netflix were among the megacap tech names climbing on Friday, which can partially explain the Nasdaq's outperformance. On the other end of the spectrum, small cap stocks also rallied, with the Russell 2000 up 1%.

But Friday's bounce wasn't enough to erase losses seen in recent days. Mounting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East gave way to a shaky start in October for stocks, a turn after the market posted an unusually strong first nine months of the year.

All three of the major indexes are poised to snap three-week win streaks. The Dow and Nasdaq were each off by 0.4% on the week. The S&P 500 was poised to shed 0.2%.

Crude oil prices rose again on Friday, bringing the week-to-date gain close to 9%. Oil has been pushed higher as a result of intensifying conflict in the Middle East after Iran launched a missile attack on Israel.

Energy stocks have jumped this week as oil rallied, with the S&P 500 sector up 6.8%. With that, the group is on pace to notch its biggest weekly gain in almost two years.

Amazon can save $20 billion annually by using autonomous vans, says JMP

Amazon can potentially save more than $20 billion a year by deploying autonomous technology with electric Rivian vans for middle-mile transport and ditching internal combustion engine vans, according to JMP Securities.

Fuel costs about 25% to 30% of the per-mile costs in middle- and last-mile delivery, analyst Nicolas Jones noted. Electric vehicles can cut per-mile energy costs by nearly 50%, he said. On top of that, wages and benefits account for more than 40% of the cost per mile, he added.

"By eventually utilizing autonomous driving technology for middle mile, in combination with deploying electric vehicles for last-mile delivery, we see an opportunity for AMZN to reduce shipping costs by ~20% globally ($20B) over time; this reflects approximately $1.15 of savings per mile," Jones said, noting that this is a medium- to long-term opportunity.

In the near term, he sees the potential of up to $7 billion in annual savings globally as Amazon converts its last-mile fleet to Rivian vans.

Shares of Amazon are up about 20% year to date.

— Michelle Fox

China stock ETFs headed for fourth straight weekly gain

ETFs tied to the Chinese stock market continued to ride high this week, on track for their fourth straight weekly advances. The iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) has soared 10% this week, while the iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) has popped 10.6% in that time.

— Fred Imbert

Energy sector poised to see best week since 2022

Energy stocks in the S&P 500 are heading for their best week in almost two years.

The sector has climbed about 6.8% this week, making it the best performer of the 11 that comprise the S&P 500. That leg up comes as oil prices have rallied with rising geopolitical conflict in the Middle East.

If that advance holds, it would mark the group's biggest weekly gain since a week in late October of 2022. For reference, the energy sector jumped more than 8% during that week.

Diamondback Energy has led the sector up this week with a rally of more than 12%. APA followed, climbing more than 9%.

Every stock in the sector is tracking for gains this week.

— Alex Harring

Hospitality, health care lead job gains

The strong September jobs report showed big months for some of the categories that have fueled the economy's post pandemic rebound. These were the top three areas for job growth last month:

• Leisure and hospitality: 78,000 jobs
• Health care and social assistance: 71,700 jobs
• Government: 31,000 jobs.

Check out a full chart of job growth by category here.

— Jesse Pound

Rally pulls stocks out of weekly rut

Friday's advances brought the three major indexes near flat on the week.

With the big gains in the session, the three major indexes were all within striking distance of their flatlines for the week. Heading into Friday, the Dow and S&P 500 were both off by 0.7%, while the Nasdaq was down 1.1%.

— Alex Harring

Stocks open higher

Stocks opened Friday's session higher, regaining ground after a rough week.

The Dow traded up more than 200 points, which equates to a gain of around 0.6%, shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7% and 1.2%, respectively.

— Alex Harring

Blowout jobs diminish the idea of more jumbo rate cuts, strategist says

The blowout jobs report squashed the idea that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates by another half point next month, according to Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.

 "The monster upside surprise suggests that the labor market may actually be a picture of strength, not weakness, and it completely dismisses the idea that the Fed could even contemplate another 50bps cut in November," Shah said, adding that recession risks have also collapsed.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Monday he expects the central bank to move in quarter-point increments at least through the end of the year.

— Yun Li

September jobs report easily beats expectations

The U.S. economy added 254,000 jobs in September, easily topping expectations. Economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast an increase of 150,000 jobs. The unemployment rate, which was expected to hold steady at 4.2%, dipped to 4.1%.

— Fred Imbert

Spirit Airlines, Rivian among the names making moves premarket

Some stocks are making big moves in premarket trading:

• Spirit Airlines, JetBlue – Spirit plunged more than 38% following a report from The Wall Street Journal that the discount airliner is considering filing for bankruptcy. Shares of peer airline firm JetBlue, which was previously in talks to merge with Spirit, advanced nearly 6%.
• Zim Integrated Shipping Services – The international shipping company's stock fell more than 9% after U.S. dockworkers and the United States Maritime Alliance agreed to a tentative deal to end the strike on the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. The news weighed on other international shipping stocks as well. Danish shipping giant Maersk fell more than 8% before paring some losses, while German shipper Hapag-Lloyd fell more than 13%.
• Rivian – Shares tumbled 8% after the electric-vehicle maker cut its annual production guidance to between 47,000 and 49,000 vehicles, versus its prior guidance of 57,000 vehicles. Rivian said it is experiencing a production disruption due to a supply shortage.

Read here for the full list.

— Sean Conlon

Here's what to expect from the U.S. jobs report

Check out the Dow Jones estimates for Friday's September payrolls report, which is slated for release at 8:30 a.m.:

• Nonfarm payrolls: 150,000 up from 142,000 in August
• Unemployment rate: 4.2%
• Average hourly wages: 0.3% month-over-month gain; 3.8% increase year over year

— Fred Imbert

Hong Kong markets resume rally as investors weigh China stimulus, oil gains

SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday as concerns over Middle East tensions keep investors on edge in the run up to September's U.S. payrolls report.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is up over 2% at 2:30 p.m. local time, while South Korea's Kospi traded 0.36% higher.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.67% to close at 8,150 points. Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.22% to close at 38,635.62 points.

—Lee Ying Shan

U.S. port strike ends

The longshoremen's port strike ended on Thursday, just two days after it began.

"The International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. have reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues," The International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance announced in a joint statement.

About 50,000 members of the ILA union walked off the job earlier this week. This strike was the first by the ILA since 1977.

— Lisa Kailai Han, Kif Leswing

Where the major averages stand

Here's where the major averages stand for the week ahead of Friday's trading:

• The S&P 500 is down 0.67%
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.71%
• The Nasdaq Composite is down 1.11%
• The Russell 2000 is down 2.00%

— Lisa Kailai Han

Spirit Airlines plummets 24% after WSJ reports the carrier is exploring bankruptcy

Shares of Spirit Airlines cratered 24% in extended trading Thursday night.

The action came after The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar, that the budget airline is in talks with its bondholders over a possible filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Generally, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy involves having a business reorganize its finances and develop a plan to repay its creditors.

Back in March, Spirit and JetBlue Airways terminated their agreement to merge, weeks after the Justice Department won a lawsuit to stop the deal. The DOJ said that the merger would result in higher fares for budget-conscious customers.

Spirit Airlines have been languishing in 2024, down more than 86%. Shares tumbled to a new 52-week low on Thursday, closing lower by about 3.5%.

— Darla Mercado

Energy continues to lead S&P 500's performance on Thursday

Mounting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have sent oil prices higher this week. On Thursday, the energy sector continued to be the outperformer in the S&P 500.

Eight of the broader index's 11 sectors traded lower on Thursday. The consumer discretionary sector was the laggard and ended the day 1.28% lower.

Eight of the 11 sectors are also on pace to end the week lower. Consumer discretionary stocks are again the laggard, with a 2.81% week-to-date decline. Energy, the best performing sector, is currently up 5.89% on the week and on pace to notch its best weekly performance since March 2023.

— Lisa Kailai Han, Christopher Hayes

Stock futures open marginally lower

Stock futures were trading marginally lower on Thursday night.

Dow futures slipped just under 0.1% shortly after 6 p.m. ET, while S&P 500 futures lost 0.1%. Nasdaq 100 futures retreated 0.2%.

— Lisa Kailai Han