The number of new US jobs fell in September to a more than 3.5-year low, but the decline in vacancies was almost entirely in the South, suggesting Hurricanes Helen and Milton had a negative impact on labor demand by 418,000, reaching 7,443,000. The number of people hired increased by 123,000, the number of people fired increased by 165,000. Economists attributed the decline to the hurricanes and strikes by aerospace workers, which will temporarily dampen job growth in October. 

The gloomy Labor Department report was countered by a Conference Board survey showing that consumer sentiment about the job market improved significantly in October, sending the consumer confidence index up to a nine-month high. 7, a significant improvement from September 99.2 More consumers said they plan to buy a car or home appliance in the next 6 months to buy, the share of consumers planning to buy a house remained unchanged. Moreover, consumers are less concerned about the US presidential elections to be held on November 5. 

The number of consumers who believe that there are enough jobs in the country has increased. Compared to 31 percent in September, the number of such consumers was 35 percent.At the same time, the number of consumers who believe that finding a job is difficult decreased to 16.8 percent compared to 18.6 percent in October.

US new home sales rose to their highest level in nearly a year and a half in September as buyers rushed to take advantage of falling mortgage rates. Sales of new homes rose 4.1% to 738,000 units last month, the highest level since May 2023, the Commerce Department said. New home sales increased by 6.3% in September compared to September last year. US mortgage lending fell in September, hitting a more than 1½-year low at the end of the month, after the Federal Reserve began cutting refinancing rates.

The US Federal Reserve will reduce the refinancing rate by 25 basis points on November 7. That's the view of all 111 economists polled by Reuters, with more than 90% predicting another quarter-percentage-point cut in December, bringing the key rate to 4.25%-4.50%. The next meeting of Federal Reserve policymakers is scheduled to begin immediately after the November 5 US presidential election. Polls show that the chances of the two candidates are almost equal, although the Republican candidate Donald Trump is gaining an advantage recently. According to economists, the Federal Reserve will cut the refinancing rate by 50 basis points in the first two quarters of 2025, and by another 25 basis points in the last quarter of the year, bringing the main interest rate to 3.00%-3.25% by the end of 2025.

U.S. business activity rose in October amid strong demand, and companies raised prices for their goods and services at the slowest pace in four and a half years, suggesting the economy started the fourth quarter on solid footing. S&P Global said on Thursday that its PMI index, which reflects the dynamics of the manufacturing and services sectors, rose this month to 54.3, compared with 54 in September. Generally, a reading above 50 indicates an expansion of the private sector. Retail sales data show that economic growth picked up speed in the third quarter.

And business activity in the eurozone continued to remain in the slow growth range this month as demand, both domestic and foreign, fell, although companies raised prices very little. The Eurozone PMI index compiled by S&P Global increased by only 0.1 percent in October compared to September and now stands at 49.7. Despite the increase, this indicator is still below 50, which means that businesses in the Eurozone are not yet out of austerity mode.

Third-quarter earnings data suggest S&P 500 corporate profits will soon rise sharply, Bank of America said. More than a third of S&P 500 companies released their third-quarter reports, which saw a 56 percent increase in the use of the word "floor" when referring to earnings. This has given experts a reason to predict that the worst is already in the past for the big companies, which have been working under conditions of low demand for almost two years now.

Previously, such a situation was recorded in 2009 and 2020. There was a significant increase in the term "floor" regarding earnings in the companies' quarterly reports, followed in both cases by a 75% increase in the profitability of the stocks of companies in the S&P 500.

Thanks to Google owner Alphabet, the Nasdaq index hit an all-time high on Oct. 29 despite investor uncertainty surrounding the upcoming U.S. election.The technology index rose 0.8 percent, up more than a quarter from the start of the year. That's thanks to tech giant Alphabet's shares rising 4 percent after the close.

The company's revenues in the third quarter increased by 15 percent compared to the third quarter of last year, reaching 88.3 billion dollars. The biggest contributor to this growth was advertising revenue, which rose 10 percent to nearly $66 billion.

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