Wall Street’s IPO fervour cools on tepid demand and valuation worries

Market sentiment on Friday was buoyed by a positive US jobs report for September. The major US indices opened in the plus for the first trading session of the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% to 51,263 points, while the broad-based S&P 500 climbed about 1% to 7,738 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq started the day up 1.4% to 27,265 points, nearing its all-time high of 27,288.79 points.

The Nasdaq 100, comprising 100 non-financial companies with the highest market capitalization, grew 1.5% to 30,935.08 points, setting a new record. These results suggest investors are closely watching the latest employment data. However, the report indicated only 29,000 new jobs were created in September, below economists' expectations of a gain of 90,000.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, up from a revised 4.0% in August. "Today's data calls for patience, not panic," said Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Asset Management, speaking to CNBC. She emphasized that the focus should be on US monetary policy rather than speculation about potential interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

Lower employment expectations have dampened speculation about further rate hikes by the Fed. The Federal Reserve's dual mandate requires it to achieve full employment and stable prices.