US Equity Markets End Higher as Odds of Steady Fed Policy Increase

04:42 PM EDT, 10/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes ended higher Friday after a weak nonfarm payrolls report supported odds that the Federal Reserve will keep its policy rate unchanged in October. * The September employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed nonfarm payrolls rose by 29,000, below the 90,000 increase expected in a Bloomberg survey, while August jobs were revised downward to a 133,000 increase. * New orders for US factory goods rose 0.1% in August, below expectations for a 0.2% increase in a Bloomberg survey and a revised 0.8% increase in the previous month. * The probability that the Federal Reserve will raise its target rate by 25 basis points in October fell to 22.7% from 64.2% a week earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool. * November West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $1.30 to settle at $91.55 per barrel, while December Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $0.53 at $102.84. * Satellogic (SATL) launched its first Merlin.01 and three NewSat satellites aboard a SpaceX (SPCX) Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday. SpaceX shares rose 7.4%, the second-biggest gain on the Nasdaq, while Satellogic shares rose 5.7%. * Corteva (CTVA) shares fell 5.2% a day after the Vylor (VYLR) spinoff was completed and S&P indexes were reshuffled.