Two new reports testified to an increasingly weaker American labor market. Partly, the number of new hires in the private sector was halved in August. Partly, more Americans than expected applied for unemployment benefits last week – a sign of an increased number of layoffs.
The deterioration in the labor market increases investors' hopes that the central bank Federal Reserve will raise the interest rate at its next meeting in a couple of weeks.
Among individual stocks, the clothing company American Eagle was noticed. The stock soared 38 percent – the company's profit last quarter was twice as large as analysts had predicted. The increase in profit is linked to the hype surrounding American Eagle's controversial jeans commercial with actress Sydney Sweeney this summer.
The broad S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent, Nasdaq's technology-heavy composite index lifted 0.9 percent, and the Dow Jones industrial index increased 0.7 percent.
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