Wall Street closed higher at the close of the first trading session for November despite the release of a weaker-than-expected jobs report out in the U.S. The unemployment rate held at 4.1% in October, but the US economy added just 12,000 jobs over the month which fell well short of economists’ expectations of 100,000 jobs being added.

The Nasdaq gained 0.8% on Friday, the S&P500 rose 0.41% and the Dow Jones ended the day up 0.7%.

Amazon rallied over 6% on the back of stellar quarterly results while Intel also added 7.8% on strong revenue and guidance exceeding expectations. 

Over in Europe on Friday markets in the region closed higher, rebounding from 3 negative sessions. The STOXX 600 rose 1.1%, Germany’s DAX added 0.93%, the French CAC gained 0.8% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 0.83%.Across the Asia markets on Friday, it was mostly a sea of red led by Japan’s Nikkei falling 2.6% after the bank of Japan held interest rates steady for the next period. China’s manufacturing purchasing managers index for October came in at 50.3 points which topped economists’ expectations and showed a positive uptick in economic output in the region.

Locally on Friday the ASX200 fell half a percent to close at the lowest level in 7-weeks as investors reacted to Q3 producer price index data coming in lower than expected with an annual rise of 3.9% compared to the 4.8% economists were expecting. The price of gold rose 6% over October which propelled gold miners on the ASX with tailwinds expected to continue for the foreseeable future while oil prices steadied on Friday following weeks of volatility.

What to watch today:

• Ahead of Monday’s trading session the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day up 0.44%.
• On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 0.33% higher at US$69.49/barrel, gold is down 0.4% at US$2736/ounce, and iron ore is down 1.24% at US$104.29/tonne.
• The Aussie dollar is buying 65.81 US cents, 50.86 British pence, 100.55 Japanese yen and 1 New Zealand dollar and 10 cents.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter has slightly reduced the 12-month price target on Nickel Industries (ASX:NIC) from $1.47 to $1.43 and maintain a buy rating on the leading global nickel producer following the release of the company’s September quarter results. During the quarter, Nickel Industries reported nickel production was below BPe, cash costs were 10% above BPe, and production from the company’s Hengjaya mine nearly doubled. The reduction in the 12-month price target is due to lower FY24 earnings which are slightly offset by the establishment of an increased production profile at the Hengjaya Mine.
• And Bell Potter has reduced the 12-month price target on MedAdvisor (ASX:MDR) from 62 cps to 55cps and maintain a buy rating on the healthcare tech company following the release of the company’s Q1 results which were softer than expected but not worth the considerable sell-off experienced on the day of the results being released.