NFP surprise! September Data Rocks Financial Markets

<p>&nbsp;US bond yields rose on Friday, with the 10-year bond yield nearing a 16-year high after the latest jobs data came in higher than economists expected.</p><p><br /></p><p>The 10-year bond yield rose by nearly 13 basis points at 4.839%. It hit a recent 16-year high earlier this week, rising as much as 4.884%. The 2-year bond yield traded at 5.14% after rising more than 11 basis points.</p><p><br /></p><p>The NFP employment data rose by 336,000 in September, while economists polled by Dow Jones expected a gain of 170,000 jobs. The unemployment rate was 3.8%, slightly higher than the consensus estimate of 3.7%.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Investors will consider whether this data can prompt a rate hike or not. There have been mixed messages from policymakers about whether rates should be raised further to ease the economy, including the labor market, and stabilize inflation. However, Fed officials appear broadly to expect rates to remain high for a longer period.</p><p><br /></p><p>Friday's jobs report comes after mixed labor market data was released this week.</p><p><br /></p><p>On Thursday, weekly initial jobless claims came in at 207,000 for the week ended September 30, below the Dow Jones estimate of 210,000. Earlier this week, payroll processing firm ADP reported that private payrolls grew by 89,000 in September, which was much lower than expected and marked a sharp decline from August's figure of 180,000.</p><p><br /></p><p>On the other hand, the US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against six major currencies, strengthened by 0.52% after the NFP data.</p>