Stocks rallied on Friday, marking a strong start to November as dip buyers stepped in, looking past a disappointing jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 288.34 points, or 0.69%, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.41%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8%. This positive momentum was driven primarily by significant gains in major technology stocks, which have been pivotal in lifting overall market sentiment.

Amazon led the charge, surging 6.5% after reporting strong earnings, particularly in its cloud and advertising sectors. Intel also contributed to the bullish sentiment with an 8.5% jump following its robust revenue forecast. These gains helped offset earlier declines in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, which had been pulled lower by disappointing earnings from companies like Microsoft and Meta Platforms.

Despite the positive market performance, a jobs report released on Friday revealed that the U.S. economy added only 12,000 jobs in October, a significant drop from the expected 100,000 and marking the slowest pace of job growth since December 2020. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, aligning with estimates. Analysts attributed the weak jobs figures to external factors, including hurricanes and strikes, suggesting that the underlying labor market remains resilient.

Traders did not react strongly to the jobs data, viewing it as noise rather than a signal of an impending economic downturn. Many analysts believe that the Federal Reserve is likely to continue its easing cycle, with expectations for a 25 basis point rate cut in the upcoming meetings. Investor focus is also on the U.S. presidential election on November 5, which is expected to contribute to market volatility.

Overall, the market’s strong start to November comes on the heels of a difficult October, where the Dow fell 1.3%, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq experienced declines of 1% and 0.5%, respectively. As the week wrapped up, the S&P 500 managed to trim its losses and halt a two-day downturn, bolstered by solid performance from industry bellwethers and megacap technology stocks.