Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Jumps More than 1% After Strong Jobs Report; META stock rises 20%

The Nasdaq Composite Index and Nasdaq 100 posted strong gains in the stock market today, weathering an early decline, after the January jobs report came in much stronger than expected.

X

Both indices rose 1.5% on Friday afternoon as sentiment was positive in the technology sector. Technology helped gain 21% Meta platforms (dead) and an increase of 8% for Amazon.com (Amzn). but apple (Camel) fell below the 200-day line early in the session, though it was back nearly to breakeven, after the company reported earnings and issued a weak revenue forecast.

Datadog (DDOG), MongoDB (MDB), Nvidia (NVDA) And Advanced micro devices (AMD) were among other top gainers on the Nasdaq 100. MDB has lagged in the database software group, but is nearing the top of a short consolidation zone with a 443.84 entry.

The stock market lead was tight, with losers outnumbering risers on the Nasdaq by about 2 to 1. The ratio was more than 3 to 1 negative on the New York Stock Exchange.

The economy created 353,000 jobs in January, well above estimates of 170,000, while job growth in December was revised sharply higher. This fueled serious bond selling, raising the 10-year Treasury yield by 17 basis points to just under 4.03%.

Earlier in the week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the first rate cut probably wouldn't happen at the March meeting. After the strong jobs data, traders are uncertain that the first rate cut will come at the May meeting as well.

Stock Market Today: Meta is rising

Meta Platforms rose to an all-time high after the company reported a third straight quarter of accelerating earnings and revenue growth along with its first ever earnings. One of the stocks is on Investor Business Daily Leaderboard, Meta will pay a dividend of 50 cents per share, payable on March 26 to shareholders of record on February 22. On an annual basis, Meta stock gives a return of less than 1%.

Digital ad sales jumped 24% to $38.7 billion, while revenue from the company's Metaverse-focused Reality Labs topped $1 billion for the first time.

Join IBD experts as they analyze the leading stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live

Amazon also rose sharply on the stock market today after the company reported adjusted earnings of $1 per share compared to 3 cents in the same quarter last year. Amazon Web Services revenue rose 13% to $24.2 billion, representing 14% of total revenue.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%, although it had ventured into the red earlier on an earnings selloff in Apple shares. Profits and revenues exceeded expectations, supported by good growth in iPhone 15 sales and services. The latter contributed revenues of $23.1 billion, an increase of 11%. iPhone revenue rose 6% to $69.7 billion, making up 58% of total revenue in the quarter.

Apple briefly fell below the 200-day line but has rallied from the lows, trimming 4.3% on the day to less than 1%.

Chevron leads the Dow Jones

Chevron (CVX) was one of the biggest gainers on the Dow Jones, up nearly 3% on a strong fourth-quarter earnings report. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 1.6% to about $72.65 a barrel.

Earnings Calendar Highlight: 10 Highly-Rated Growth Stocks to Watch

The S&P 500 rose 0.9%, supported by upside gains Arista Networks (network) which jumped by about 4%. Meta Platforms is one of ANET's largest customers.

Small caps lagged, with the Russell 2000 down about 1%.

Growth stocks are on the move

Meanwhile, several highly rated growth stocks rose sharply in… Marketsmith 250 growth In today's stock market. Shopify (Shop), a member of Leaderboards The typical portfolio rose more than 6% after a volatile session on Thursday. SHOP stock is in an alternative buy zone as it bounces off the 10-week line.

Fast-growing shoe giant Decker outdoors (Deck) by more than 15% after the company announced a 44% increase in its quarterly profits. Revenue rose 16% to $1.56 billion. Deckers, known for its Ugg and Hoka shoe brands, also boosted its fiscal 2024 earnings and revenue guidance.

But the news wasn't very good Skechers (SKX), which fell more than 8%, falling sharply below its 50-day line after the shoemaker's earnings showed they beat revenue expectations.

In the enterprise software suite, JFrog (frog) outperformed, rising nearly 4%. FROG is located near the top of the flat base at entry 35.35.

Follow Ken Shreve on X/Twitter @IBD_KShreve For more stock market analysis and insight.

You may also like:

Earnings Calendar Highlight: 10 Highly-Rated Growth Stocks to Watch

Best growth stocks to buy and watch

Get your next big winning stock with MarketSmith

IBD Stock of the Day: Learn how to find, track and buy the best stocks

IBD Digital: Unlock IBD's featured stock listings, tools and analysis today