U.S. Stocks Remained Under Pressure Amid Data Blackout and Labor Market Worries

Barry Adams
07 Nov, 2025
New York City

Stocks edged higher on the final trading day of a volatile week, and benchmark indexes struggled to advance amid mounting evidence of rising stress in the labor market.  

The S&P 500 index edged up 0.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite increased 0.3% amid a lackluster trading in tech stocks. 

The weakness in tech stocks was further exacerbated after a private report indicated that the job cuts in October soared to a two-decade high amid widespread layoffs ahead of the holiday season. 

Investors are struggling to decipher changing labor market conditions amid a data blackout because of the federal government shutdown. 

Friday would have seen the release of the nonfarm payrolls report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the government agency missed the report for the second month in a row.

An informal survey of six labor economists conducted by Ticker.com showed that the U.S. labor market in October contracted by 73,000, the jobless rate inched higher to 4.5%, and wages increased by 3.8% from a year ago. 

After a week of volatile trading, the S&P 500 index declined 1.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.7%. 

 

U.S. Stock Movers

Airbnb Inc. rose 4.6% to $126.02, and the short-term rental platform operator reported strong third-quarter results and outlook. 

Revenue increased 10% to $4.1 billion, net income advanced to $1.4 billion from $1.36 billion, and diluted earnings per share rose to $2.21 from $2.13 a year ago. 

Gross booking value jumped 14% to $22.9 billion, and nights and seats booked increased 9% to 133.6 million. 

The company guided fourth-quarter revenue to range between $2.66 billion and $2.72 billion, an increase between 7% and 10% from a year ago. 

The San Francisco, California-based company estimated gross booking value to increase "low double-digits," benefiting from a "modest increase in average daily rate" from a year ago. 

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. decreased 4.1% to $242.0 after the company's subsidiary announced an additional delay in the release of the highly anticipated game.

Rockstar Games said Grand Theft Auto VI will now be released in November 2026, later than the previous estimated release in May 2026. 

Tesla Inc. increased 0.8% to $449.65 after the company said shareholders overwhelmingly approved CEO Elon Musk's $1 trillion pay plan. 

About 76% of shareholders approved the revised milestone-based pay package, consisting of 12 blocks of shares over the next decade. 

After the vesting of all stock rewards, Musk's equity stake in the company could increase to 25% from the current 13%.