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Great Jobs Report. Will It Matter to Market Participants?
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Key Takeaways
BLS Employment Gained 165K Last Month, Unemployment 4.1%
Humana & Moderna Beat on Q3 Earnings This Morning
U. Mich Preliminary Survey After the Open, Also Consumer Spending
Friday, November 6th, 2026
Pre-markets are mixed after Thursday’s bloodbath shakeout. The Dow continues its downward fall, -525 points at this hour — even after a splendid jobs report — while the Nasdaq is up +318 points. The S&P 500, as per usual, splits the difference: +11 points. The small-cap Russell 2000 is +6 points presently.
Bond yields continue to moderate, with the 10-year at +4.900%, the 2-year +4.539% and the 30-year +5.305%. Oil prices keep receding lightly, now at $91 per barrel (/bbl) on WTI and $98/bbl on Brent crude. With so many moving pieces, especially coming only days after the biggest midterm election shift in recent memory, we’ll have to wait patiently for the dust to settle before we see a clear path on the global economic scale.
BLS Jobs Report Much Better than Expected: +165K, +4.1% Unemployment
This morning, the biggest of “Jobs Week” jobs report came out, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and results were far better than expected: +165K — close to triple the +59K analysts were looking for. The Unemployment Rate retreated back to +4.1%, where it had been this past summer.
Even better? Revisions to the previous two months reported added a total of +84K new job fills: August moved from +133K to +186K, while September moved from a scant +29K to +60K. Hourly Earnings gained more than expectations, as well: +0.4% month over month is above the +0.3% estimate and +0.1% a month ago, while +3.1% beat estimates by 20 basis points (bps) and +10 bps from the prior month’s +3.0%.
Professional & Business Services jobs broke out in the month, leading the list by sector to +70K — well above the industry average of +15K over the past 12 months. Healthcare added +42K, followed by Transportation & Warehousing at +25K and Manufacturing at +19K. Labor Force Participation was off recent lows to +61.7%; same with the Average Workweek at +34.4 hours.
Any way you slice it, this was a very healthy jobs report. The trick is in following this through to the next Fed decision, which comes a month from now. Odds are that a 25 bps increase may be what wins the day; for sure today’s BLS report would support the argument that raising rates another quarter-point won’t substantially weaken the labor market.
Earnings Reports This Morning: HUM, MRNA
In case it may have slipped our minds, we’re still in the middle of Q3 earnings season. This morning, Humana (HUM - Free Report) outpaced estimates on its bottom line by +32%, reporting a loss per share of -$0.70 versus -$1.03 expected — as a big revenue drag based on higher medical costs and a lower Medicare Advantage Star ranking keep its bottom line in negative territory. Revenues of $40.83 billion beat estimates by +0.90%. For more on HUM’s earnings, click here.
One of the biggest comeback stories of 2026 has been Moderna (MRNA - Free Report) , which reported positive earnings versus an expected loss: +$0.38 per share versus -$1.10 anticipated. Revenues well outperformed estimates, by +47.7%, to $1.31 billion in the quarter, and the drug maker raised full-year guidance. Shares are up +1% on the news, adding to the astounding +718% gains year to date. For more on MRNA’s earnings, click here.
What to Expect from the Stock Market Today
What more do we want? It’s already been quite a week, and is blurring outlooks not only regarding AI datacenter regulations, but Iran War forecasts, and many more objectives based on the Democratic Party sweep of the midterms this week. The past two days were the definition of a turbulent market; hopefully it won’t take long to plot the way forward, with strength in the economy and the jobs market to lead the way.
That said, a new preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Survey for November comes out after today’s opening bell. Expectations are for a slight bounce to 47.5 versus the 46.3% reported for October, but still way off the baseline value of 100 points. Also, Consumer Credit for September is expected to raise to $11.5 billion from $8.3 billion reported a month ago.
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Image: Bigstock
Great Jobs Report. Will It Matter to Market Participants?
Key Takeaways
Friday, November 6th, 2026
Pre-markets are mixed after Thursday’s bloodbath shakeout. The Dow continues its downward fall, -525 points at this hour — even after a splendid jobs report — while the Nasdaq is up +318 points. The S&P 500, as per usual, splits the difference: +11 points. The small-cap Russell 2000 is +6 points presently.
Bond yields continue to moderate, with the 10-year at +4.900%, the 2-year +4.539% and the 30-year +5.305%. Oil prices keep receding lightly, now at $91 per barrel (/bbl) on WTI and $98/bbl on Brent crude. With so many moving pieces, especially coming only days after the biggest midterm election shift in recent memory, we’ll have to wait patiently for the dust to settle before we see a clear path on the global economic scale.
BLS Jobs Report Much Better than Expected: +165K, +4.1% Unemployment
This morning, the biggest of “Jobs Week” jobs report came out, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and results were far better than expected: +165K — close to triple the +59K analysts were looking for. The Unemployment Rate retreated back to +4.1%, where it had been this past summer.
Even better? Revisions to the previous two months reported added a total of +84K new job fills: August moved from +133K to +186K, while September moved from a scant +29K to +60K. Hourly Earnings gained more than expectations, as well: +0.4% month over month is above the +0.3% estimate and +0.1% a month ago, while +3.1% beat estimates by 20 basis points (bps) and +10 bps from the prior month’s +3.0%.
Professional & Business Services jobs broke out in the month, leading the list by sector to +70K — well above the industry average of +15K over the past 12 months. Healthcare added +42K, followed by Transportation & Warehousing at +25K and Manufacturing at +19K. Labor Force Participation was off recent lows to +61.7%; same with the Average Workweek at +34.4 hours.
Any way you slice it, this was a very healthy jobs report. The trick is in following this through to the next Fed decision, which comes a month from now. Odds are that a 25 bps increase may be what wins the day; for sure today’s BLS report would support the argument that raising rates another quarter-point won’t substantially weaken the labor market.
Earnings Reports This Morning: HUM, MRNA
In case it may have slipped our minds, we’re still in the middle of Q3 earnings season. This morning, Humana (HUM - Free Report) outpaced estimates on its bottom line by +32%, reporting a loss per share of -$0.70 versus -$1.03 expected — as a big revenue drag based on higher medical costs and a lower Medicare Advantage Star ranking keep its bottom line in negative territory. Revenues of $40.83 billion beat estimates by +0.90%. For more on HUM’s earnings, click here.
One of the biggest comeback stories of 2026 has been Moderna (MRNA - Free Report) , which reported positive earnings versus an expected loss: +$0.38 per share versus -$1.10 anticipated. Revenues well outperformed estimates, by +47.7%, to $1.31 billion in the quarter, and the drug maker raised full-year guidance. Shares are up +1% on the news, adding to the astounding +718% gains year to date. For more on MRNA’s earnings, click here.
What to Expect from the Stock Market Today
What more do we want? It’s already been quite a week, and is blurring outlooks not only regarding AI datacenter regulations, but Iran War forecasts, and many more objectives based on the Democratic Party sweep of the midterms this week. The past two days were the definition of a turbulent market; hopefully it won’t take long to plot the way forward, with strength in the economy and the jobs market to lead the way.
That said, a new preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Survey for November comes out after today’s opening bell. Expectations are for a slight bounce to 47.5 versus the 46.3% reported for October, but still way off the baseline value of 100 points. Also, Consumer Credit for September is expected to raise to $11.5 billion from $8.3 billion reported a month ago.
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