Stocks gained over the week on an increase to the debt ceiling until early December avoiding a potential default. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and the Dow gained 1.2% for the week. Abroad, the FTSE All World Ex US was up 0.6% for the week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury posted its seventh straight week of gains to end the week at 1.60% up from 1.48%. It’s at its highest level since late June. Oil surged over the week gaining 4.6% on low supply to finish the week at $79.35 a barrel, its highest level since 2014.
The US saw its slowest pace of monthly job gains this year in September with just 194,000 jobs added. However, August’s hiring was revised higher. More job seekers exited the labor pool last month so despite the weak higher level the unemployment rate dropped to 4.8%. Wages rose 4.6% from a year earlier.
Initial jobless claims fell for the first time in four weeks.
OPEC+ agreed to continue to increase oil production in gradual steps and not accelerate production as many had expected.