Yields drift lower before Friday's payrolls release
U.S. Treasury yields moved slightly lower as traders positioned themselves ahead of a closely watched employment report due Friday, weighing what it might reveal about the health of the American economy. The benchmark 10-year yield slipped by less than a single basis point to 4.83%, and the 30-year bond held nearly steady at 5.249%. The 2-year note was unchanged at 4.474%. A basis point equals 0.01%, and bond yields and prices always travel in opposite directions.[S1]
The week's central data event is the October non-farm payrolls report, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Eastern time on Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones anticipate a gain of 59,000 jobs for the month, with the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.2%. That forecast follows a September reading that came in below expectations, when employers added 29,000 positions and the jobless rate climbed to 4.2%.[S1]
Election outcome and AI selloff weigh on sentiment
Politics dominated market attention this week after Democrats secured control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections. The result has raised questions among some investors about whether construction of data centers could slow, a prospect that matters given how much of the recent equity rally has rested on artificial intelligence infrastructure spending.[S1]
Investors were also working through a steep decline in artificial intelligence shares on Thursday. According to FactSet data, the Nasdaq, the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 all recorded their weakest session since April 2025, and the group known as the Magnificent Seven shed more than $1 trillion in combined market capitalization during the downturn.[S1]
The pullback in yields extended beyond the immediate session, with traders continuing to watch the jobs data after the midterm results. Gold, meanwhile, was on course for its strongest weekly advance since August, a sign that demand for defensive assets was building alongside the retreat in government bond yields.[S2][S3]
