(Updates with latest market prices and developments.)
US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday as a soft jobs report cooled expectations for monetary policy tightening next month.
The Nasdaq Composite was up 1% at 26,613.84 after midday Friday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 7,747.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.2% to 53,975.56. Most sectors were in the green, with materials on top, while energy led the laggards.
Nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 last month, marking the first decline since February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. The consensus was for an 80,000 increase in July, according to a Bloomberg-compiled survey.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, the lowest since June 2025 when it stood at the same level, while Wall Street expected an unchanged print of 4.2%.
"This morning's softer employment report helped to quiet the noise of a September rate hike," TD Economics said.
The probability of the Federal Reserve raising its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point next month eased to 44% on Friday from 55% on Thursday, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The odds that the central bank will maintain its policy jumped to 56% from 45%.
US Treasury yields were lower intraday, with the 10-year rate down 1.4 basis points at 4.66% and two-year rate falling by 4.4 basis points to 4.2%.
"For the Fed, the uneven nature of employment conditions will likely serve to perpetuate the divide in expectations for policy as some advocate for action sooner than later while others continue to take a more cautious, wait-and-see approach," Stifel said.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.1% at $78.10 a barrel, while Brent rose 1% to $83.31. Both benchmarks, however, were on track for their second consecutive weekly declines.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a mutual defense pact stipulating that an attack against one of them shall be regarded as an attack against all.
The deal comes as Saudi is bracing for multiple attacks by Iraqi militias and Iran-backed Houthis, CNN reported, citing a Saudi official.
In company news, Airbnb (ABNB) surged 15% intraday, the biggest gain on the S&P 500. The vacation rental company's second-quarter results topped Wall Street's estimates amid strong demand trends.
Trade Desk (TTD) slid 22%, the worst performer on the S&P 500, following stock rating downgrades from multiple brokerages, including Citigroup. Trade Desk released disappointing second-quarter results late Thursday.
Cloudflare (NET) jumped 7.6% as the cloud services provider lifted its full-year outlook following better-than-expected second-quarter results.
Spot gold advanced 2.2% to $4,333.64 per troy ounce, while silver jumped 2.9% to $63.40 per ounce.
