Stock Market Today: Dow in best week since July as jobs data boost Fed pause bets

Investing.com — The Dow on Friday notched its best week since July, as a monthly jobs report showing cooling wage growth in July, underpinned optimism that slowing inflation will likely persist and encourage the Federal Reserve keep rates steady next month.

The rose 0.3%, 116 points, taking gains for the week to 2%. The rose 0.1%, the was up 0.2%.

Jobs increase, but wage growth slow as unemployment unexpectedly ticks up in July

The economy created 187,000 in July, up from 157,000 the prior month, beating economists’ estimates for 170,000.

Average hourly slowed to a 0.2% pace last month from 0.4%, slower than the 0.3% economists had expected as a rise in labor supply, or the participation rate, unexpectedly pushed higher to 3.8% from 3.5%.

The move all but cemented for the Federal Reserve to keep rates steady on Sept. 20,with some on Wall Street suggesting that the Fed could be with rate hikes.

“We do not believe today’s report was strong enough to meet the bar for the Fed to hike in September and think the Fed reached the peak of this cycle in July at 5.25%-5.50%,”  Morgan Stanley said in a note.

Broadcom falls despite earnings beat, but Dell shines on AI-boost infused

Broadcom (NASDAQ:) fell more than 5% even as the chipmaker reported better-than-expected quarterly results, as demand for its chips and software was boosted by growing AI demand.

The results show the chipmaker has addressed two focus areas investor concern, Deutsche Bank says, boosting revenue from AI and easing its reliance on cyclical businesses including broadband and server storage connectivity.

AI revenues jumped 50% sequentially in F4Q, Deutsche Bank saysand will make up over 25% of the firm’s semiconductor revenue in fiscal 2024.

Dell Technologies (NYSE:), meanwhile, reported second-quarter results that topped Wall Street estimates and investors cheered further progress on its foray into artificial intelligence.

“At the company’s analyst day in October, we expect Dell to not only provide more clarity on the AI opportunity but also likely announce and formalize a more aggressive capital return policy,” UBS said in a note on Thursday.

Nio, Xpeng shine after deliveries rise amid growing EV demand

Nio (NYSE:) closed 7% after the Chinese electric vehicle maker said it delivered 19,329 EVs in August, up 81% from the same month a year earlier.

Xpeng (NYSE:) rose 5%, meanwhile, after it reported a 43% rise in EV deliveries to 13,690 vehicles compared with the same month year earlier.

The company also said it began testing its XNGP — its driver-assistance system that automates some driving functions but still requires a driver behind the wheel — in Germany, with plans to unveil its XPENG G9 and New P7 models at the September motor show in Germany.

{{0|Tesla slumps, Disney down on Charter cable system

Tesla (NASDAQ:), however, fell 5%, after another round of price cuts in China triggered fresh concerns about margins.

Walt Disney Company (NYSE:), down more than 2%, came under pressure after several of its channels including ESPN went dark on Thursday for customers of Charter’s Spectrum cable service amid a dispute with Charter over cable fees.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:), which pays Disney about $2.2 billion in annual programming costs, said it Disney rejected its proposal for a new distribution deal at time of fierce competition from low-cost streaming services including Netflix (NASDAQ:).