Wall Street rallies after US economy added more jobs than forecast in September, after shock losses in August – as it happened

3.36pm GMT Closing summary Time to wrap up… Global stock markets are rising after the US economy added more jobs than forecast in September, and Nvidia beat Wall Street expectations. The US market is sharply higher, with the Dow Jones industrial average now up 692 points or 1.5% at 46,830. Investors pushed the market higher after new data showed the US jobs market added 119,000 jobs in September. Amid heightened uncertainty surrounding the strength of the US economy, the much-anticipated reading was higher than the 51,000 jobs expected by analysts to be added in September. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, ticked up from 4.3% to 4.4%: its highest level since 2021. And a previous estimate for jobs growth in August was downgraded – revealing an unexpected decline in the US workforce. Related: US added 119,000 jobs in September in report delayed by federal shutdown Stocks had already rallied across Asia-Pacific markets overnight, and in Europe. In London, the FTSE 100 is now up 83 points or 0.9% at 9591 points. Shares in Nvidia are up 4% after the chipmaker dismissed fears of an AI bubble, beat forecasts for sales growth, and gave an upbeat outlook. CEO Jensen Huang insisted that the artificial intelligence transformation had legs, telling analysts: “AI is going everywhere, doing everything, all at once.” Related: ‘We excel at every phase of AI’: Nvidia CEO quells Wall Street fears of AI bubble amid market selloff 2.48pm GMT Nvidia shares rally after results Shares in Nvidia have jumped by 3.9% in early trading, to $193.83, after beating Wall Street forecasts last night. As covered in the introduction, Nvidia also predicted continued strong sales growth. Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvida, told analysts last night: “There’s been a lot of talk about an AI bubble. From our vantage point, we see something very different. As a reminder, Nvidia is unlike any other accelerator. We excel at every phase of AI from pre-training to post-training to inference.” 2.35pm GMT Wall Street rallies after jobs report and Nvidia results Wall Street has jumped at the start of trading, as traders hail Nvidia’s strong results last night and today’s jobs report. Tech stocks are rallying strongly, after Nvidia cooled fears of a bursting AI bubble by beating expectations last night. The news that more jobs were added across America in September than expected has also bolstered confidence about the health of the US economy. Reuters helpfully has the details: The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 428.7 points, or 0.93%, at the open to 46567.51. The S&P 500 rose 95.8 points, or 1.44%, at the open to 6737.93​, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 492.8 points, or 2.18%, to 23057.001 at the opening bell. 2.26pm GMT Isaac Stell, investment manager at Wealth Club, is also confident the US Federal Reserve won’t deliver a pre-Christmas rate cut: “US job growth blew past expectations in September painting a rosy pre-shutdown picture and delivering the largest jobs gain in 5 months. Despite the data already being out of date, this will be the only major jobs release prior to the Fed’s end of year meeting. Given the Fed minutes showed hesitancy within the ranks when it comes to a final interest rate cut in 2025, the strength of this jobs report will likely ensure nothing changes. So, the sleigh bells will not be ringing this December at the Fed. Instead of a perfectly wrapped rate cut, the US consumer is likely to be met with a lump of coal.” 2.25pm GMT Earnings growth slows Average earnings growth slowed in September, today’s jobs report shows, in a blow to US workers. Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 9 cents, or 0.2%, to $36.67 in September, down from 0.3% growth in August. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.8%. 2.06pm GMT Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, says today’s US jobs report is “unlikely to tip the balance to a December cut”. Shah explains: “Despite the fact that today’s jobs report is very backward looking, its making markets move. Equities and bonds seem to be picking the parts of the jobs release they like. Equities like the fact that payrolls were stronger than expected, suggesting the economy is still on a firm footing, while the bond market likes the rise in unemployment and slowdown in wage growth which may keep the case for a December Fed cut just about alive. Overall though, in the face of so much FOMC hawkishness and without any further jobs reports ahead of the December FOMC meeting, today’s jobs release is unlikely to tip the balance to a December cut. 2.04pm GMT Market expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month are rising, reports Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. A cut still isn’t seen as likely, though. Brooks explains: There is some nuance to this report. The unemployment rate jumped to its highest level since 2021 at 4.4% from 4.3%, and there were revisions to the August payrolls number, which fell to -4k from 22k initially. Added to this, more timely data, including continuing claims rose to 1.97mn, which is a mid-cycle high. This is an interesting development, and the market is boosting the chance of a Fed rate cut in its wake. Bond yields are falling across the curve in the US, the dollar has given back most of today’s gains, and the market has repriced the chance of a Fed rate cut next month from 25% to 37% after the payrolls release. This report is significant, since we won’t get an October reading for payrolls, and the November report will not be released until after the Fed’s December meeting. Thus, this is the last labour market report before the next Fed meeting. A rising unemployment rate could trigger a cut, since the Fed has a dual mandate to maintain price stability and full employment. 1.57pm GMT Some more timely employment data has also been released, showing that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week. The number of fresh ‘initial claims’ for state unemployment benefits dropped 8,000 to 220,000 in the week ending on 15 November, the Labor Department has reported. 1.51pm GMT Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter, says today’s jobs report is better than expected, meaning it is unlikely to prompt the Federal Reserve into cutting interest rates in December. James says: “Today’s delayed September payrolls report came in better than expected, but there is still evidence of continued softness in the US jobs market. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 119,000, while the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.4%. “On the face of it, this jobs figure seems a marked improvement and is ahead of expectations, but it is worth noting the downward revisions to what had already been disappointing numbers in the months prior. July’s nonfarm payrolls figure was revised down by 7,000 to 72,000, while August’s dropped from 22,000 into negative territory, at -4,000 – a combined 33,000 lower. A subdued pace of job creation has become somewhat of a norm in recent months, and while September has surprised on the upside, the ongoing data uncertainty leaves a large question mark over the true state of the market. Updated at 1.52pm GMT 1.47pm GMT The Bureau of Labor Statistics has confirmed that the October print will not be released as the data collection did not take place during the government shutdown. That suggests today’s release will be the final official labour market update before the Federal Reserve’s meeting on 10 December. 1.42pm GMT US unemployment rate rises to 4.4% The jobless rate across the US has risen higher than expected too. Today’s jobs report shows the unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in September, up from 4.3% in August. The number of people classed as unemployed rose to 7.603m, up from 7.384m in August. The BLS says: These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 4.1%, and the number of unemployed people was 6.9m. 1.34pm GMT US September jobs report beats forecasts, August a shocker though Newsflash: The US economy added more jobs than forecast in September, as America’s jobs market picked up after a summer lull. September’s official employment report, delayed since the start of October by the US government shutdown, shows that nonfarm payroll employment rose by 119,000 in September. That’s more than twice as many jobs as expected, thanks to gains in health care, food services and drinking places, and social assistance. Job losses occurred in transportation and warehousing and in federal government, though. But there’s bad news too. The jobs reports from July and August have been revised down, to show that the US economy actually lost jobs in August (!). The Bureau for Labor Statistics explains: The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July was revised down by 7,000, from +79,000 to +72,000, and the change for August was revised down by 26,000, from +22,000 to -4,000. With these revisions, employment in July and August combined is 33,000 lower than previously reported. 1.25pm GMT The market’s focus today is on the September payroll report, says Mohit Kumar of investment bank Jefferies: Even though it’s old, market would be watching for any clues around the health of the US employment picture. Consensus expectation is for 51K for NFP. From a markets’ perspective, close to consensus should be the sweet spot. Both a too high or a too low number would be perceived as negative by the market. 1.09pm GMT US jobs report: a preamble We’re about to, finally, get some official insight into how the US jobs market fared at the end of the summer. September’s non-farm payroll is due to be released at the bottom of the hour, almost seven weeks late, due to the US government shutdown. Economists have predicted that the report will show that hiring picked up after a slowdown in August. Payroll growth is forecast to have risen to around 50,000 in September, more than doubling the August increase of just 22,000. Related: US added just 22,000 jobs in August, continuing slowdown amid Trump tariffs The health of the US labor market is a key factor determining whether the Federal Reserve will cut US interest rates next month. So while the data is rather stale, it is also important for the markets. Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, explains: The shutdown stole October’s NFP, November won’t land until after the Fed meets, and [Fed chair Jerome] Powell is now flying the world’s biggest monetary aircraft with half the instruments frozen. When the pilot can’t see the runway, everyone in the cabin trades the turbulence. Tomorrow’s release of the September NFP – a 10-week-old fossil – has been absurdly elevated into the sole guidepost for a data-starved market. In FX, this kind of void amplifies every whisper into a roar. Updated at 1.38pm GMT 12.44pm GMT US retail giant Walmart has raised its annual forecasts for the second time this year, and reported another strong quarter of online sales. The company reported growth in US comparable sales, which includes online and stores, of 4.5% for the August through October period, above estimates for 3.8% growth. It is now forecasting that annual net sales to rise 4.8% to 5.1%, up from a prior target of 3.75% to 4.75%. 12.04pm GMT UBS: AI capex to almost double to $4.7trn Artificial intelligence spending commitments could almost double, compared to existing plans, over the next five years, Swiss bank UBS has forecast. In its 2026 outlook, released this morning, UBS predicts that AI capital expenditure (capex) will remain a driver of near-term growth in the markets, pointing to the opportunities in both ‘agentic’ and ‘physical’ AI. UBS predicts that $4.7trn will be spent on global AI capex between 2026 and 2030, with $2.4trn already planned based on more than 40 announcements disclosed this year alone. It expects $571bn of this spending to come in 2026 (up from a previous forecast of £500bn). For momentum to continue, tech leaders and investors must believe future demand justifies today’s significant investments, UBS point out, adding: Recent data center expansion means installed chip capacity could support a 25-fold increase in chatbot usage. But it is not just chatbots— anticipation of the next wave, including agentic AI (multiple specialized agents collaborating to replicate knowledge work), physical AI (robots, autonomous vehicles), and AI video, could drive further capex growth. Businesses are rapidly becoming major AI users; agentic AI could drive compute demand to five times today’s installed base by 2030. Physical AI could push demand even higher. With millions of robots already deployed and projections for a million humanoid robots sold annually by 2030, the need for computing power could soar even further. 11.12am GMT UK factory output slumps Just in: Output at UK factories has fallen at the fastest pace since August 2020 over the last quarter, a new poll has found. The CBI’s latest Industrial Trends Survey (ITS) had found that manufacturing output volumes fell in the three months to November, with bosses forecasting a similar decline over the next three months. The poll, which measures how many factories reported higher sales vs lower, found: Output volumes fell at an accelerated pace in the three months to November (weighted balance of -30%, from -16% in the quarter to October), which saw the sharpest decline since the three months to August 2020. Manufacturers expect output volumes to fall at a similar pace in the three months to February (-30%). The last three months includes the shutdown at Jaguar Land Rover in September, which pulled down UK growth that month. Related: UK economy grew by just 0.1% in third quarter after hit from JLR cyber-attack Total order books were stable at a historically weak level in November, the CBI adds, with export order books still well below average. Ben Jones, CBI lead economist, says: “Manufacturers face a challenging end to the year. What’s striking in this month’s survey is how consistently firms link the slowdown to uncertainty ahead of the Budget, with customers delaying purchases and investment until they know what’s coming. “With the Budget now just days away, the Chancellor must provide much needed certainty and back the government’s growth mission rhetoric with pro-business policies. For manufacturers, this must include accelerated support to address punitive energy costs and increased Growth and Skills Levy flexibility – interventions that would boost competitivness, increase confidence, and unlock growth.” 10.49am GMT Here’s a chart showing how the FTSE 100 share index has broken out of a five-day losing run this morning: 10.25am GMT CLA president blasts Labour's rural economic policy Gavin Lane, the new president of the Country, Land and Business Association, has delivered a blistering attack on Labour’s rural economic policy, as Emma Reynolds the Defra secretary watches on. She looks unimpressed, my colleague Helena Horton reports from the CLA’s annual conference. Reynolds is due to speak but is not taking questions from the press or live questions from the audience. Defra requested the CLA send her questions from members in advance, presumably so officials could help her write answers to them. Lane said of the changes to inheritance tax which mean a large number of farmers will find it difficult to hand down their businesses to their children: “Whether through ideology inexperience, or perhaps a fundamentalist misunderstanding of how family businesses work, this government is treating intergenerational asset transfer as a problem to be solved, rather than the foundation of sustainable long term investment.” He accused Labour of having “economic theories about wealth inequality without grasping the breaking up family businesses can destroy the very stability that we need to solve national challenges.” Lane said Labour was pursuing business consolidation and courting big international companies rather than supporting small and medium-sized businesses which have seen increased taxes and costs over the past year. Unemployment is up, he added, and investment is down in the rural economy. He added that farmers are needed to meet Labour’s targets to build reservoirs and clean energy such as solar farms and onshore wind. He added: “I’m not sure why these taxation changes have been pursued with such vigor, or why there’s been little time for consultation, but the Treasury has decided that private capital accumulation is the problem, without understanding, in my view, that private capital investment is the solution.” Lane said that farmers and landowners are not faceless corporations and that the people in the room “live above the shop” and care about their local communities. Lane added: “You can’t ask people to pay to plant an orchard they’ll never see grow. Then tell them their kids aren’t allowed to pick the fruit.” 10.18am GMT Dr Martens to raise US prices due to Trump tariffs Dr Martens is set to put prices up on some items in the US in January as the British bootmaker attempts to offset the impact of Trump’s import tariffs which it said amounted to between £7m and £9m. The company is also shifting production for US-destined boots and shoes from Laos to Vietnam where the tariff rate is 20% - half that in its neighbouring country. Such measures are expected to mitigate half the impact of the tariffs by 2027. Ije Nwokorie, the chief executive of Dr Martens, told The Guardian that Dr Martens had not put prices up in the US for three years and it would be ensuring it “maintains competitive advantage” there with careful adjustments on certain lines. He added that the broadening of Dr Marten’s product assortment - with more shoes, and new boot styles including a new welly ready for next year’s festival season, had helped give a kick to wholesale sales in the US - which rose for the first time in several years in the quarter. Nwokorie said the UK was not trading significantly differently to other European markets at present with the consumer “cautious right now” and “looking for deals”. He said Dr Marten’s efforts to reduce discounting in a quite promotional environment had affected the sales line but it was benefiting from a “flight to quality” and people trading down from luxury brands with shoe sales up 33%. “The consumer is still buying products that meet their needs,” he said. 9.46am GMT Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, reports that Nvidia’s results have steadied market sentiment, while also giving bearishly-inclined investors something to get their teeth into. He writes: “While bubble fears won’t be completely dispelled by last night’s Nvidia earnings, signs of robust demand mean that investors are able to see the upside from here. The 15% stock price drop into earnings, and the accompanying 5% drop in indices, seemed to clear the air nicely, taking out some excessively frothy sentiment. Overall the bulls got what they wanted last night, while bearish investors (hello, Michael Burry) will still be able to argue that such exuberant spending will ultimately end in tears.” Indeed, Burry (famously portrayed in The Big Short) has posted a chart showing all the interlinked deals between AI players: Every company listed below has suspicious revenue recognition. The actual chart with ALL the give-and-take deals would be unreadable. The future will regard this a picture of fraud, not a flywheel. True end demand is ridiculously small. Almost all customers are funded by their… pic.twitter.com/0XyGQ8FjuE— Cassandra Unchained (@michaeljburry) November 19, 2025 9.29am GMT Brazil denies planning to poison EU Brazil’s ambassador to the EU has hit out the “fake news” about meat and other food from Latin American countries, saying nobody is trying to “poison” citizens of the European Union under the recent trade deal with Mercosur countries that continues to be opposed by farmers. Pedro Miguel da Costa e Silva told a trade conference at the European Commission that half of his country’s exports to the EU are coffee and soy, neither products produced locally, which go on to support a lot of business in the EU. I think there is a lot of misperception, a lot of disinformation, a lot of fake news about the quality, like we’re going to poison the citizens of the EU that none of our products have quality, which makes no sense. He said there was also much disinformation about Brazil and other countries in Mercosur such as Argentina flooding Europe with food. If you look at the numbers, that, again, is not correct, you’re talking about 1% less than 1% . If you look at what Brazil exports to the EU, half of it is coffee and soy, two things that you do not produce, that you use as inputs, and that generates revenue, a lot of revenue, for the EU. And if you look at the other products, it’s minerals, it’s frozen orange juice. None of that is sensitive to the EU agricultural producers. Updated at 1.31pm GMT 9.15am GMT China: Nexperia row not fully resolved The Chinese ministry of commerce has said the dispute over the supply of chips from Nexperia, the Dutch-based Chinese-owed company, is still not fully resolved. “There is still a gap to completely solve the problem,” the Chinese ministry of commerce (MOFCOM) said on Thursday. Nexperia has been at the heart of a global slowdown of chip supply after the Dutch government effectively took control of the company in the EU amid concerns the company was moving its intellectual and physical assets to China. MOFCOM said it hopes to “continue to see sincere cooperation” and an “early settlement”. The car manufacturers’ trade body in the EU, ACEA, yesterday said that although the supply of chips had been restored following Beijing’s decision to lift a ban on chips, supplies remained “critical”. Jonathan O’Riordan, ACEA’s director of international trade, said a “bridging agreement” was still needed to secure long term supply to the sector, which a few weeks ago said it was “days away” from halting production. Nexperia’s wafers need input from both the EU and China with the Netherlands producing the wafers which are then sent to the parent plants in China for finishing and global export. Yesterday the Dutch economy minister Vincent Karremans said they would lift the order which imposed controls on Nexperia in the EU as a “gesture of goodwill” to the Chinese. But Wingtech, the Nexperia Chinese, hit out demanding it permanently rescind the order that placed it under state control and insisting it had done nothing to warrant the Dutch action. A spokesperson for Wingtech said. “Minister Karremans justified his actions by accusing Nexperia’s CEO of various acts of alleged mismanagement. Wingtech strongly rejects these accusations and points out that, to date, no proof has been provided,” Updated at 1.32pm GMT 9.03am GMT Johnson Matthey urges Reeves not to increase costs for businesses The boss of FTSE 250 metals group Johnson Matthey has said that chancellor Rachel Reeves should hold off increasing costs for British businesses ahead of next Wednesday’s budget. Chief executive Liam Condon said that cost inflation was still a major issue for British industry, but that the government should also stick with plans to bring in new renewable energy supplies. He said: The minimum is no additional cost for business. Every time costs go up, you’re making the case against investing in the UK. In the UK cost of energy is too high versus almost anywhere in the world. Johnson Matthey is investing in a new refinery to recycle platinum group metals in Royston, Hertfordshire. The company is negotiating with the UK government to qualify for discounts on electricity bills that are reserved for energy-intensive industries. The biggest electricity users receive a 90% discount on extra fees to the grid - paid by other users including households - under the British Industry Supercharger, but it is limited to companies in specific industries. Johnson Matthey revealed a 38% increased in underlying profit this morning, excluding a catalyst technologies business it is selling to US conglomerate Honeywell. The company’s main business, producing catalytic converters for petrol and diesel engines, has benefited from a slower-than-expected switch to battery electric vehicles. Condon said that changes to US and EU rules were “really only catching up to the reality of the market”. He said that consumers had been unwilling to bear “horrendous prices” for electric vehicles, but they were now “getting to the right price point”. Updated at 9.12am GMT 8.47am GMT European stock markets are rising across the board, as Nvidia’s results brighten the mood. Here’s the situation: UK’s FTSE 100: up 72 points at 9,579, up 0.77% Germany’s DAX: up 241 points at 23,402, up 1% France’s CAC: up 90 points at 8,044, up 1.1% Spain’s IBEX: up 143 points at 16,031, up 0.9% Italy’s FTSE MIB: up 541 points at 43,192, up 1.25% Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says risk appetite has raced back: Nvidia bears the weight of the world but, like Atlas, it’s standing firm under that towering mountain of expectations. Third quarter results delivered the goods and then some, a 4% beat on the top and bottom line came with a side of more good news in the form of a monster $65 billion revenue guide for the fourth quarter. While AI valuations are dominating the news feeds, Nvidia is going about its business in style. There are certainly pockets of the AI space where valuations needed to take a breather, but Nvidia is not in that camp. In fact, while shares have performed well this year, the valuation has gotten more attractive as earnings growth has raced ahead. 8.39am GMT Šefčovič: era of secure global supply chains is over European trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič has said the decades-old global trading system with secure global supply chains is over. In the wake of the most recent battle between the EU and China over the supply of chips for the auto industry, he told a conference in Brussels “everything could be weaponised”. Related: Netherlands suspends state seizure of Chinese chipmaker Nexperia Trade he said is the “new tool” in the trade wars now causing geopolitical waves between China and the US, Europe and the US with import and export bans being imposed at will by Beijing. Europe for years, kind of relied upon the reliable global supply chains, this is a new situation. And suddenly we might have new tariffs, might have new exports controls. Simply that system, which was built for decades, is not there anymore. Everything could be weaponised. So unfortunately, it became the new tool in this, I would say, geopolitical competition. A “well-functioning World Trade Organization” with reforms was vital for the future of free trade, he added. Updated at 1.37pm GMT 8.23am GMT Games Workshop shares surge after trading update Tabletop gaming company Games Workshop has muscled its way to the top of the FTSE 100 share index, after predicting sales and profits will be higher over the last six months. In a brief trading update, Games Workshop told the City: The Board’s estimate of the results for the six months to 30 November 2025, at actual rates, is core revenue of not less than £310 million (2024/25: £269.4 million) and licensing revenue of not less than £16 million (2024/25: £30.1 million). The Group’s profit before tax (“PBT”) is estimated to be not less than £135 million (2024/25: £126.8 million). It also declared a dividend of £1.00 per share taking dividends declared so far in 2025/26 to £3.25 per share (up from £1.85 a year ago). This has given Games Workshop’s shares a boost – they’re up 10% today at £177, nearly a year after being promoted to the FTSE 100 share index. Related: Watch out for the Weirdboyz: Games Workshop on track for FTSE 100 Fun fact, they were just £31 in January 2019, when my then-colleague Alex Hern wrote the definitive explanation of how, and why, interest in Warhammer 40,000 was booming: Related: ‘Heroin for middle-class nerds’: how Warhammer conquered gaming 8.06am GMT FTSE 100 jumps after Nvidia results The Nvidia relief rally has reached London. After falling for the last five sessions, stocks are higher in early trading. The FTSE 100 share index has gained 56 points, or 0.6%, at the start of trading, to 9564 points. Technology investors are leading the rally, with Polar Capital Technology Trust up 3.45% and Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust gaining 2.3%. It’s another sign that Nvidia’s earnings have reassured investors. Michael Brown, senior research strategist at brokerage Pepperstone, says: NVDA duly delivered a classic ‘beat and raise’ after hours yesterday, not only topping both top-and bottom-line expectations, with EPS at $1.30 and revenues at $57.01bln in Q3, but also hiking Q4 revenue guidance to between $63.7bln and $66.3bln, above the consensus figure of $61.9bln. All of this, on margins well above 70%...I’m running out of superlatives to describe the figures at this stage, to be honest, though the market clearly isn’t, with NVDA popping as much as 5% after hours yesterday. With the risk of Nvidia earnings now out of the way, and with the market seemingly content to buy back into the AI theme in the aftermath of the report, at least selectively anyway, I’m relatively confident to call an end to the recent slump that we’ve seen across the equity space, especially with spoos [the futures contract for the US S&P 500 share index] reclaiming the 50-day moving average this morning. 7.45am GMT JD Sports says profits will be at lower end of expectations In the City this morning, retailer JD Sports has not matched Nvidia’s cheery outlook. JD Sports has told investors that profits this year will come in towards the lower end of current market expectations. The sports and outdoor wear retailer says it is “taking a pragmatic approach” to its outlook for this financial year, due to “incrementally weaker macro and consumer indicators in recent weeks”. Régis Schultz, CEO of JD Sports Fashion, says: “We are navigating a year of volatility in external factors with disciplined execution, reflected in a solid Q3. In the near term, as we enter an important trading period, we are mindful of recent weak macro and consumer indicators in our key markets. These lead us to take a pragmatic approach for our FY26 profit outturn. We remain confident in the overall positive trajectory for our industry and JD Group over the medium term, and this is well reflected in our commitment to enhanced shareholder returns.” UPDATE: ​The UK was the worst performing market,JD Group added, as it cautioned over “pressures on our core customer demographic, including rising unemployment levels, as well as near-term volatility around consumer sentiment”. Sales at established stores in the UK slid 3.3% in the three months to 1 November, but sales were also down in the US and EU - by 1.7% and 1.1% respectively - amid similar pressures there as well as a lack of new product launches to draw in the shoppers and the slowdown in the trend for women’s vintage trainers. Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at broker Hargreaves Lansdown said: Trading across the UK remains particularly weak, with recent changes to employer taxes and minimum wages bringing a handful of extra costs and challenges. Across the pond, the recent acquisition of Hibbett cemented the US as the group’s largest region by sales. Promotional activity among peers to help clear stock remains at elevated levels, weighing on JD’s performance who have chosen to stand firmer on pricing. Updated at 1.37pm GMT 7.33am GMT Deutsche Bank: Nvidia results have completely changed the market mood After several weak trading sessions, Nvidia’s results have changed the mood in the markets, says Jim Reid, market strategist at Deutsche Bank: He told clients this morning: In a market baying desperately for information, today’s US payrolls follows rapidly on the back of Nvidia’s earnings last night and the start of the return to business as usual for US data. It’s fair to say that Nvidia’s results have completely changed the market mood and pushed out any bubble fears for another day. The chipmaker delivered a decent revenue beat ($57.0bn vs $55.2bn estimate) and gave strong revenue guidance for the current quarter ($65bn vs $61.9bn est.). The company’s CFO suggested that Nvidia could even exceed its recent target of $500bn of revenue for the next few quarters. 7.22am GMT Asia-Pacific stocks soar on Nvidia relief A relief rally has swept across Asian markets today after Nvidia’s market-topping earnings cheered investors. Nvidia’s CEO Jenson Huang’s upbeat forecasts about the future of the AI also helped to send shares roaring higher in Japan, where the Nikkei index is up 2.6%. South Korea’s KOSPI index is up 2%, while Taiwan’s TW50 index has jumped by 3.6%. Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, says Nvidia has delivered another set of impressive – and record-breaking – results, adding: What might have made a difference in the market’s reaction is Huang saying that “we’ve entered the virtuous cycle of AI. The AI ecosystem is scaling fast – with more new foundation model makers, more AI startups, across more industries and in more countries. AI is going everywhere, doing everything, all at once.” 7.20am GMT Introduction: Nvidia shrugs off AI bubble fears Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. It’s one risk event down, one to go, for investors today after Nvidia calmed nerves with some sizzling financial results. The chipmaker at the heart of the artificial intelligence boom calmed fears of a bursting bubble – and pushed markets higher – by beating Wall Street forecasts, and giving a strong forecasts for its future performance. Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvida, tried to squish bubble fears, declaring that “We’ve entered the virtuous cycle of AI” Huang told analysts last night: “There’s been a lot of talk about an AI bubble. From our vantage point, we see something very different. As a reminder, Nvidia is unlike any other accelerator. We excel at every phase of AI from pre-training to post-training to inference.” Sales are up 62% year-over-year, reflecting the massive demand for its chips to power AI systems. The company reported $51.2bn in revenue from data-center sales, beating expectations of $49bn. And crucially for market sentiment, Nvidia sees faster growth than expected. It is projecting fourth- quarter revenue of around $65bn; analysts had predicted the company would issue guidance of $61bn. Related: ‘We excel at every phase of AI’: Nvidia CEO quells Wall Street fears of AI bubble amid market selloff Nvidia’s shares jumped 5% in after-hours trading. Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at capital.com, calls the results “practically spotless”, explaining: The stock is up after hours and that’s pushed US futures higher, with Asian stock markets likely to follow suit. Something could go wrong as investors parse the details over the course of the day. However, after a torrid few weeks of trade, especially over the last three days, to paraphrase Ice Cube, today could be a good day. Nvidia’s strong results may calm anxiety that the valuations of companies in the AI revolution have risen dangerously high, leaving the markets vulnerable to a crash. Those worries had heightened after two major investors - SoftBank and Peter Thiel – recently sold their stakes in Nvidia. Asia-Pacific markets have rallied today (more on that shortly), and European bourses are set to open higher. Also coming up today The second fear which hit share prices in recent days is that US central bankers may not cut interest rates as quickly as hoped. The long-awaited US jobs report for September is finally due to be released today, and should give insight into whether the labour market has continued to cool. September’s Non-Farm Payrolls report is expected to show a rise of 50,000 jobs with the unemployment rate remaining at 4.3%. A weak reading might nudge the Federal Reserve towards a December rate cut… The agenda 9.30am GMT: ONS data on young people not in education employment or training 10a, GMT: Eurozone construction data for September 1.30pm GMT: US non-farm payroll report for September 3pm: US home sales data for October