Stocks rose on Friday as Wall Street digested a better-than-expected nonfarm payrolls report for April, which eased recession fears.
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The S&P 500 advanced 1.47% to close at 5,686.67, marking its ninth consecutive day of gains and its longest winning streak since November 2004. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 564.47 points, or 1.39%, to finish at 41,317.43.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.51% and settled at 17,977.73. This recent surge has allowed the S&P 500 to recover its losses since early April. The nonfarm payrolls report showed 133,000 jobs were added in April, above the 133,000 that economists had anticipated.
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The unemployment rate stood steady at 4.2%.
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Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management, said, “Markets breathed a sigh of relief this morning as the jobs data came in better than expected. While recession fears are still simmering, the buy-the-dip dynamic can continue – at least until the tariff pause runs out.”
Investors were upbeat prior to the jobs report after China indicated willingness to negotiate with the U.S. on trade.
Chinese authorities, however, urged the U.S. to remove all unilateral tariffs, stressing the need for genuine dialogue. The market also reacted to earnings reports from major companies. Apple shares slid 3.7% after its services division posted results that fell short of analyst estimates.
Apple also mentioned it expects to incur $900 million in additional costs this quarter due to tariffs. Amazon shares dipped slightly by 0.4% despite the company reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenue, but it gave soft guidance for the upcoming period, citing tariff and trade policies as contributing factors. Zaccarelli added, “We’ve already seen how financial markets will react if the administration moves forward with their initial tariff plan.
Unless they take a different tack in July when the 90-day pause expires, we will see market action similar to the first week of April.”
The S&P 500 added 2.9% for the week, remaining more than 7% below its February high after briefly being down nearly 20%.
Stocks rally with better job data
The Dow advanced 3% for the week, while the Nasdaq gained 3.4%.
Crude oil futures declined more than 1% on Friday as OPEC+ is set to meet on Saturday to discuss June output levels. U.S. crude futures fell $1.13, or 1.91%, to $58.11 a barrel, while Brent crude went down by 1.58% to $61.15 a barrel. Brent is down more than 8% this week, while U.S. crude has also fallen nearly 8%.
The decline follows OPEC+’s decision last month to increase output in May, which led to a steep drop in oil prices. In other market news, Duolingo shares soared more than 18% after the language learning app provided a better-than-expected revenue forecast. Apple’s shares decreased by 4% after earnings from its services division fell just below analyst expectations.
Amazon dipped 0.4% despite posting better-than-expected earnings due to soft future guidance. A day before Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, board member Chris Davis spoke on the conglomerate’s resilience and ability to endure economic challenges. Davis praised the company’s culture of stewardship and durability.
China is reportedly considering ways to address U.S. concerns about fentanyl production, raising hopes for renewed trade discussions. According to The Wall Street Journal, discussions are still fluid, but Beijing may send a senior official to meet with U.S. counterparts to resolve the issue. Jay Hatfield of Infrastructure Capital Advisors believes the market has moved past peak concerns regarding President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.
Hatfield predicts a summer rally ahead, with the S&P 500 potentially rising to 6,600 by year-end pending resolution of key uncertainties like Fed and tax policies. Despite market recovery to levels seen before President Trump’s April tariffs announcement, recession fears remain. Emmanuel Cau of Barclays noted that while earnings are holding up, companies are revising economic outlooks and capital expenditure intentions lower, indicating potential future market correction if a recession becomes unavoidable.
