US stocks open higher despite lack of US jobs report

Washington, Oct 3, 2025 (AFP)
US stocks opened higher Friday, shrugging off the ongoing government shutdown that has held up the publication of key jobs data.
Shortly after trading began on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4 percent at 46,719.61.
The broad-based S&P 500 and tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose around 0.3 percent to 6,736.33 and 22,905.04 respectively.
"The sense seems to be that the ADP release, which was very weak, was enough to satisfy traders that the Fed is going to have to continue cutting rates this year," FHN Financial's Christopher Low told AFP, referring to some gloomy private sector jobs data published earlier this week.
Traders expect that "ultimately when we do find out what employment was, that the data will confirm that," he added.
The current US government shutdown has caused the suspension of official data, including Friday's keenly-anticipated jobs report.
The US Federal Reserve is currently in a tricky situation as it looks to balance both sides of its dual mandate to keep both inflation and the labor market in check.
The lack of official data is likely to make this task even harder.
Among individual firms, Southwest Airlines was up 3.3 percent, while software analytics company Fair Isaac's shares were up 3.1 percent, building on a surge on Thursday fueled by optimism about planned changes to its pricing model.

Sumber : AFP