Stocks Mixed, Yields Up on Surging U.S. Job Growth
Published as of: November 6, 2026, 9:15 a.m. ET
(Friday market open) Today's booming jobs report followed Thursday's epic tech-driven sell-off with signs of economic vigor. The U.S. economy created 165,000 jobs in October, burying consensus of 65,000, the government said, while wages rose a stronger-than-expected 0.4% and unemployment ticked down to 4.1%. Tech stocks initially held earlier gains after the data as dip buying showed up, while the 10-year Treasury note yield jumped four basis points on concerns the Federal Reserve might be more inclined to hike rates again.
"This was a relatively strong jobs report across the board," said Collin Martin, head of fixed income research and strategy at the Schwab Center for Financial Research (SCFR). "It may help calm some of the fears that spread to the markets yesterday on AI concerns, supporting the case that the economy remains strong."
Thursday's thundering sell-off saw investors flee AI, driving the S&P 500 Index to its worst daily loss since April 2025. The meteoric rise of Democrats, who won data center-dominated Texas, sent tremors after the initial shock. Tech plunged 7% and the Nasdaq-100® (NDX) is 15% off its October high. "We're in another round of trying to figure out what the speed limit is for this buildout," said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at SCFR, in an interview with Bloomberg. "Tech was the only sector to underperform the S&P 500. It was broad but a concentrated sell-off in terms of tech."
Three things to watch
- Jobs report deeper dive: Beyond the headlines, almost everything in today's jobs report surprised on the upside, including the government's upward revisions to growth over the prior two months. It raised employment by a combined 84,000 for August and September, putting three-month average jobs growth at a brisk 137,000, far above the 12-month average of 45,000 in place before the October data. Wage growth outpaced the 0.3% analysts had expected and is up 3.1% year-over-year, still below headline consumer inflation of 3.7%. Higher-paying jobs in professional and business services jumped 70,000 in October, far above the 12-month average of 14,000, and might have contributed to the surprise surge in wages growth. Health care, a lower-paying sector, stayed hot with 45,000 new positions, and transportation and warehousing added 25,000. All this has the Fed back under a microscope, with odds of a December rate hike now near 73% per the CME FedWatch Tool. That's up from 60% during Thursday's sell-off. Investors should "still expect a rate hike in December given this relatively strong report along with sticky inflation," Martin said.
- AI soft landing prospects uncertain: After yesterday's epic sell-off, semiconductors are down 30% from recent peaks, losing 12% Thursday alone. "The fundamentals surrounding the AI infrastructure buildout—or the potential pace of that buildout—have been under fire due to questions around future funding, and the blue sweep just exacerbated that concern," said Nathan Peterson, director of derivatives research and strategy at SCFR. The question is whether stocks can make a soft landing if chips remain weak. The jury is out, especially with tech embedded so heavily in the indexes, but there is hope. This includes strong cloud growth from "hyperscalers" last quarter and solid AI-propelled results from AppLovin (APP). Back on Wednesday, investors poured cash into consumer names, but bullish sentiment fell to 34.1% from 37.8% in the latest AAII Sentiment report. Yesterday saw the most net selling by retail traders since the Covid collapse in 2020. Traditional benchmarks show oversold conditions, so investors might want to track institutions, systematic funds, and commodity trading advisors on a day-to-day basis to see where their positioning is and get a sense of whether the market has hit a wash-out point. It might not be there yet.
- Sentiment, inflation, and corporate credit spreads eyed: At 10 a.m. ET, investors receive the preliminary November University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment report, with the headline seen at 47.2%, according to Briefing.com. That's even lower than October's lackluster 48.0%. Inflation expectations, especially longer-term, are key, and were, 3.5% in October. With jobs and sentiment behind, attention next week turns to October inflation, especially Tuesday's Consumer Price Index (CPI). Results could provide insight into the Fed's next move. While inflation could grab headlines in coming days, investors should also keep an eye on corporate credit spreads, which moved in the wrong direction for market bulls yesterday. By midday Thursday, the high-yield spread was up 15 basis points, Bloomberg said, with investment-grade spreads up four basis points. That large gain in high-yield spreads was only matched on two other days over the last year. Shakiness in corporate credit can sometimes be a warning sign for Wall Street.
On the move
- Chip and AI-related stocks showed signs of life this morning. The question is whether buy-the -dip interest lasts, as sell-offs like yesterday's don't often end up one and done.
- Some names on the rise before the bell included Sandisk (SNDK) up 10%, Applied Digital (APLD) up 10%, CoreWeave (CRWV) up 10%, Nebius (NBIS) up 9.5%, Lumentum (LITE) up 9.5%, and Marvell Technology (MRVL) up 9.5%. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which collapsed 17% yesterday, climbed almost 8% ahead of the open.
- AI-adjacent stocks, or companies seen benefiting from the data center buildout, also climbed early. Dell (DELL) rose 8.3%, Bloom Energy (BE) climbed 10%, and CrowdStrike (CRWD) advanced nearly 5%. SpaceX (SPCX), which dropped 9% Thursday, was up 4.5% early Friday.
- The biggest chip firms, including Nvidia (NVDA), which was down 9% yesterday, Broadcom (AVGO), and Intel (INTC) staged early comebacks, all up 4% to 5%.
- Lyft (LYFT) dropped 5% after reporting earnings and revenue that both missed consensus. Gross bookings, however, hit a record high, up 17% annually.
- Lam Research (LRCX) rose over 11% in pre-market action after its board authorized a $25 billion stock buyback.
- DraftKings (DKNG) folded more than 25% after announcing earnings, revenue, and Sportsbook revenue numbers that missed expectations.
- Although past isn't precedent, over the past 52 Nasdaq corrections—drops of 10% or more from highs—the index returned to its previous high within three months 38% of the time. In 60% of cases, it was back to its former heights within six months.
- All 11 S&P 500 sectors finished solidly in the red Thursday. Information technology brought up the rear, down 7.3%. Consumer staples finished closest to breakeven, shedding almost 0.7%.
- Staples, the best performer yesterday, had some of the hardest hit names early today as PepsiCo (PEP) fell 2%, Coca-Cola (KO) dropped 2%, Phillip Morris (PM) dropped 1.8%, and Walmart (WMT) gave back 2.3%.
- Bitcoin fell about 5% Thursday to its lowest level since September, dragged down by risk-off sentiment. Crypto-related stocks also tumbled. Coinbase (COIN), Circle Internet (CRCL), and Strategy (MSTR) all fell about 9%.
More insights from Schwab
Talking markets with Schwab experts: This week's Schwab OnInvesting podcast looks at a busy week for markets, including the election results, the continued evolution of the AI trade, improving market breadth, inflation risks, and the outlook for interest rates and bonds.
Got two minutes? Learn the latest Schwab views through 2 Minutes on the Markets from Schwab Market Insights. The latest video addresses issues from gas prices to earnings as well as what fundamentals could change the picture.
Sonders shares perspective: In the latest Market Snapshot, Schwab's Sonders examines churn and rotation underneath the indexes, looks at performance of various sectors, and discusses the importance of diversification and rebalancing.
Select Cboe Options offered with extended hours: The Cboe began offering extended trading hours for select multi-listed equity options on October 19. Schwab clients can now take advantage of the new trading hours, and the program includes some of the most actively traded and liquid symbols.
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The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX—candlesticks), also known as the fear index, topped 28 on Thursday, the highest level since March. But it remained well below levels seen in August 2024, April 2025, and March 2026.
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The week ahead
Friday, November 6: October nonfarm payrolls, October unemployment, preliminary November University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment, and expected morning earnings from Enbridge (ENB), Moderna (MRNA), Humana (HUM), and Vistra (VST).
Monday, November 9: Expected morning earnings from Constellation Energy (CEG) and Barrick Mining (B). Expected afternoon earnings from Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and Rocket Lab (RKLB).
Tuesday, November 10: October CPI and core CPI and expected afternoon earnings from CoreWeave (CRWV) and Rigetti Computing (RGTI).
Wednesday, November 11: No major earnings or data expected. U.S. bond market closed for Veterans Day.
Thursday, November 12: October existing home sales and expected morning earnings from Brookfield (BN) and Nebius (NBIS). Expected afternoon earnings from Cisco (CSCO) and Applied Materials (AMAT).
Friday, November 13: October PPI and core PPI.
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