U.S. Jan Jobs Data Beats Expectations Drive Equities Higher; Fed Policy Outlook Reassessed

U.S. January nonfarm payrolls surged 130,000 vs. 66,000 forecast and 48,000 revised, with the unemployment rate unexpectedly falling to 4.3%. The stronger labor data underpinned broad equity gains on Wednesday, Feb 11, as major indices opened higher and risk assets gained support. Key indices led the session: Dow Jones Industrial Average up 252.86 points or 0.50% to 50,441.00, Nasdaq Composite up 130.14 points or 0.56% to 23,232.62, and S&P 500 up 36.69 points or 0.53% to 6,978.50. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose 5 bps to 4.19%, reflecting renewed assessment of the Fed's policy path, while the dollar index was broadly unchanged at 99.185. Data highlights: Average weekly hours 34.3 (vs 34.2 forecast/34.2 prior), average hourly wage annual increase 3.7% (vs 3.6% forecast/3.7% revised), monthly wage increase 0.4% (vs 0.3% forecast/0.1% prior), labor participation rate 62.5% (vs 62.4% prior).