US STOCKS-Wall St eyes higher open after jobs data, Nvidia results

Until Thursday's close, the S&P 500 had fallen close to 3% so far in November, while the Nasdaq had lost nearly 5%. Meanwhile, data showed U.S. job growth accelerated in September, but the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, suggesting labor market conditions remained sluggish.

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.) *

Futures up: Dow 0.89%, S&P 500 1.56%, Nasdaq 2.06% *

Chip and AI stocks gain on Nvidia results *

September NFP at +119,000 vs +50,000 estimate (Updates before markets open)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Twesha Dikshit Nov 20 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes were set for a higher open on Thursday as technology stocks got a boost after Nvidia's stellar results quelled some concerns around an AI bubble, while investors assessed the September jobs report. Nvidia surged 5.1% in premarket trading after the world's most valuable company forecast sales above analysts' estimates for the final three months of the year and surpassed expectations for third-quarter revenue.

CEO Jensen Huang shrugged off concerns about AI on a call with analysts, saying, "We see something very different." A year-long rally in high-flying technology stocks had begun to lose some steam as investors became increasingly cautious of a potential AI bubble.

Concerns about monetization prospects over the technology, circular spending within the sector and debt issuance have weighed on markets with the Nasdaq sharply off its October high and Nvidia down more than 12% from its peak. Until Thursday's close, the S&P 500 had fallen close to 3% so far in November, while the Nasdaq had lost nearly 5%.

Meanwhile, data showed U.S. job growth accelerated in September, but the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, suggesting labor market conditions remained sluggish. "The problem is the report is dated and the next report won't be out until after the Fed meets in December," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.

"That certainly puts (the Fed) in a conundrum and likely doesn't improve the chance they could see their way clear to cutting rates." Traders

continued to bet that the Fed will skip an interest rate cut in December, though there was a small pull-back in those bets after the release of the data.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday it would not be publishing its October report, but would combine nonfarm payrolls for that month with November's report after the recently ended government shutdown prevented the collection of data for the household survey. The September jobs data comes a day after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting showed a divided committee on whether to cut interest rates.

At least five Fed officials are set to speak later in the day. At 8:49 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 412 points, or 0.89%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 103.75 points, or 1.56% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 510.5 points, or 2.06%.

Catching on Nvidia's tailwind, Advanced Micro Devices rose 3.6%, while other chip-related stocks, including Broadcom and Marvell Technology, also recorded strong gains. Most megacap and growth stocks advanced, with Alphabet up 4% and Meta gaining 2%.

Walmart jumped 4.1% after the retailer raised its annual forecast for the second time this year and also set a December date to change its stock listing to the Nasdaq from the NYSE. Palo Alto Networks dropped 1.9% as the cybersecurity firm said it would buy cloud management and monitoring company Chronosphere for $3.35 billion.

Also on Thursday, data showed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)