Stocks Trade Flat on Strong Jobs Data, Meta Soars on Budget Cuts

US stocks posted small gains Thursday as stronger-than-expected jobs data didn’t shift expectations for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week.

The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1%. The Russell 2000 Index rose 0.8%. Shares of Meta Platforms Inc. jumped 3.4% amid news that Mark Zuckerberg is expected to meaningfully cut resources for building the so-called metaverse, according to people familiar with the discussion.