US Job Market Disappoints, Stocks Rise on Reduced Rate Hike Odds

The US job market showed weaker-than-expected numbers in September, with employment increasing by only 29,000 jobs. This missed analysts' predictions of around 90,000 new jobs and saw the unemployment rate rise to 4.2%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also revised down job figures for July and August by a combined 60,000, with the former now showing a loss of jobs instead of a gain.

Wall Street's main stock indices rose at the start of trading as investors saw the weak labour market as further reducing the likelihood of another immediate interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note briefly fell below 5.2%.

Eurozone inflation surged to 3.8% in September, with energy costs being a major factor due to the war in the Middle East. Investors now see only a one-in-five chance of the Fed hiking rates at its meeting later this month, though a majority expect a rate hike by a quarter or half percentage point in December.