The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 406 points, or 0.8%, in morning trading. Caterpillar shares jumped roughly 3.7%, while Nvidia gained about 2.8%. Together, the two stocks contributed around 219 points to the Dow’s advance.
The rally followed a September employment report showing the U.S. economy added just 29,000 jobs, far below the roughly 90,000 economists expected. The unemployment rate also edged up to 4.2%, while July and August payrolls were revised down by a combined 60,000.
Nvidia Benefits as Treasury Yields Retreat
The softer labor data pushed the 10-year Treasury yield down toward 5.17% and the two-year yield toward 4.72%, easing pressure on highly valued growth stocks.
That matters particularly for Nvidia. Higher yields reduce the present value of future earnings and can make bonds more competitive with expensive technology stocks: the same relationship behind the pressure higher Treasury yields put on Nvidia and other AI names.
Nvidia’s rally also helped lift the Nasdaq toward another record, with the index reaching about 27,309, above its previous record close.
Caterpillar Adds a Cyclical Boost
Caterpillar supplied a different kind of support.
The industrial stock rose more than $30 per share, making it especially powerful inside the price-weighted Dow. Because each $1 move in a Dow component currently shifts the index by roughly 5.94 points, Caterpillar alone had an outsized impact on the benchmark.
The move also highlights how Friday’s rally extended beyond technology. A softer jobs report reduced rate-hike fears while lower oil prices and calmer bond markets supported industrial and cyclical stocks.
That is almost the reverse of the market reaction to the August jobs report, when stronger payroll growth pushed Treasury yields higher and pressured the Dow.