Wall Street closed sharply higher on Friday after fresh labour market data showed continued strength in hiring, easing concerns of an imminent economic slowdown.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 443.1 points or 1.1%, to 42,762.9. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both closed at fresh 4-month highs, rising 1% and 1.2%, respectively.
A key driver of the day’s rally was the nonfarm payrolls report, which showed U.S. employers added 139,000 jobs in May, exceeding market expectations of 130,000. Though below April’s revised figure of 147,000, the data helped calm fears of a broader economic deceleration.
The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2%.
Tesla rebounded with a gain of 3.7%, reversing some of the prior day’s 14.3% loss, which was triggered by a public spat between CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump on social media.
Other heavyweight tech stocks also supported the market, with Nvidia adding 1.2%, Meta Platforms up 1.9% and Apple finishing the session 1.6% higher.
Earlier in the week, economic indicators pointed to a potential softening in the broader economy. Weekly jobless claims rose more than expected, and private payrolls, as reported by Automatic Data Processing (ADP), rose by only 37,000 in May - well short of the 110,000 anticipated, while the Institute of Supply Management's (ISM) services index also weakened unexpectedly.
However, sentiment improved Friday after President Trump said U.S.-China trade negotiations would resume next week in London, offering investors a fresh glimmer of optimism on the geopolitical front.
On the bond markets, the 10-year Treasury yield climbed 2.7% to 4.508%, while the 2-year yield rose 3% to 4.037%.
