U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls Beat Expectations, Major Averages Close Lower
The major averages had a lower finish following a better-than-expected January jobs report and the latest slate of corporate earnings. Employers added 130,000 jobs in January, according to the Labor Department in a report pushed back from last week by a government shutdown. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.3% from 4.4% in December.Looking to commodities, gold was trading above the $5,000 threshold following weeks of volatility. Oil prices were also higher following API and DOE crude inventories data.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:U.S. nonfarm payrollswith the unemployment rate falling to 4.3%Kraft Heinzreportedbut provided a conservative outlook for FY26Fordreportedbut better-than-expected revenueRobinhoodreportedand named Shiv Verma CFOModernawas slipping after the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research notified the company that it willof the biologics license application for its investigational influenza vaccine, mRNA-1010, and has issued a refusal-to-file letter2. WALL STREET CALLS:Cloudflareto Outperform at BairdBeta Technologiesto Buy at Jefferies ahead of upcoming catalystsMattelto Underweight at JPMorgan and cut to Neutral at Citi after its thesis-changing Q4 reportRapid7to Hold at Canaccord and to Neutral at UBSPivotalSpotifyon AI risk to paid music streaming3. AROUND THE WEB:Apple'slong-planned Siri upgrade runs into some snags, Bloomberg reportsCME Groupis working on plan to launch a rare earth futures contract, Reuters saysMicrosoftis exploring high-temperature superconductors to design more efficient data centers by enabling zero-resistance electricity flow, which could significantly reduce space and power infrastructure needs, The Verge reportsMeta, Snap, and TikTok have agreed to undergo independent assessments to rate how effectively they protect teen users based on roughly 24 standards developed by experts, Washington Post reportsAncora Holdings has built a stake of about $200M in Warner Bros. Discoveryand plans to oppose the company's deal to sell its studios/HBO Max service to Netflix, WSJ says4. MOVERS:Teradataincreases afterand providing guidance for FY26Aehr Test Systemsgains after announcing anMNTNand BorgWarnerhigher afterAngiand Centrus Energyfall afterUpstream Biolower after reporting results from its5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:Lyftand authorized a new $1B buyback programHumanaand provided guidance for FY26T-Mobile, with EPS missing consensusShopifyand provided guidance for Q1Unity, with CEO Matt Bromberg commenting, "Fourth quarter results once again comfortably exceeded the high"INDEXES:The Dow fell 66.74, or 0.13%, to 50,121.40, the Nasdaq lost 36.01, or 0.16%, to 23,066.47, and the S&P 500 declined 0.34, or 0.0049%, to 6,941.47.
