- U.S. stocks soared Friday, with the Nasdaq 100 closing up about 1% for the week.
- Strong financial results and April employment data that were lower than expected contributed to the stock price rise.
- “The case for a rate cut got a little stronger today. Goldilocks could be back,” said TradeStation's David Russell.
U.S. stocks rose on Friday after Apple's strong earnings report and a weaker-than-expected April jobs report, raising the possibility that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year.
The U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs in April, well below the 238,000 expected by economists and far short of March's 303,000 job gain. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose from 3.8% to 3.9%. According to the employment statistics, the year-on-year growth rate of wages was also at the lowest level since June 2021.
“Concerns about wage pressures have been lingering in the market recently and today's numbers allay some of those concerns. “Goldilocks could be a little stronger today,'' David Russell, market strategist at TradeStation, told Business Insider. I mentioned it in a comment.
A weak jobs report should ultimately give the Fed more flexibility in cutting rates sooner, and bond yields have fallen sharply with this sentiment in mind. The 10-year Treasury bond fell 8 basis points to 4.50%.
Also contributing to Friday's push was Apple, which rose about 7% after reporting a better-than-feared second-quarter earnings report. The iPhone maker also launched a historic $110 billion stock buyback program and increased its quarterly dividend by 4%, drawing cheers from investors.
Here are the U.S. indices as of Friday's close at 4 p.m.
Here's what else happened today:
In Commodities, Fixed Income and Cryptocurrencies:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.15% to $78.04 a barrel. International benchmark Brent crude oil fell 0.98% to $82.85 per barrel.
- Gold fell 0.13% to $2,306.60 an ounce.
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell 8 basis points to 4.50%.
- Bitcoin rose 4.51% to $61,748.
