The economy added 467,000 jobs last month, a far better than expected performance for the labor market.  The surprise rise in the payrolls defied predictions by economists who projected gains of 150,000 jobs. It will fuel expectations that the Federal Reserve will move more aggressively than planned to tighten monetary policy to stamp out inflation. It will also come as a relief for the White House, which had warned that jobs growth might be temporarily hit by the jump in Covid-19 infections. In addition to the jump in payrolls in January, there were also large upward revisions to data from previous months, while wage growth also rose more than predicted.

Facebook is still looking for friends after a massive plunge that saw parent Meta lose $251B in market value - the biggest single-day equity wipeout ever - but things were more welcoming elsewhere in Big Tech. Amazon reported a set of bumper earnings late Thursday that smashed operating income and EPS expectations

With inventory levels in Cushing at multi-year, seasonally-adjusted lows WTI is trading above $90 for the first time since mid-2014.