The stock market rallied on Friday, bolstered by a better-than-expected nonfarm payrolls report for April.
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The S&P 500 advanced 1.47% to close at 5,686.67, marking its ninth consecutive day of gains, a streak not seen since November 2004. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 564.47 points, or 1.39%, ending at 41,317.43, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.51% to settle at 17,977.73.
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April’s nonfarm payrolls surpassed expectations, coming in higher than the 133,000 predicted by economists, though still down sharply from previous months. Despite ongoing recession concerns, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2%. Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management, stated, “Markets breathed a sigh of relief this morning as the jobs data came in better than expected.
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While recession fears are still simmering on the back burner, the buy-the-dip dynamic can continue – at least until the tariff pause runs out.”
Progress in U.S.-China trade relations further lifted investor sentiment. Chinese authorities expressed openness to negotiations, provided the U.S. removes unilateral tariffs. They emphasized that sincere efforts and corrective measures from the U.S. are essential for fruitful discussions.
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Earnings reports also played a significant role in the day’s market movements.
Stock market’s surge on job data
Apple shares slid 3.7% after reporting revenue from its services division that missed analysts’ estimates.
Additionally, Apple announced it expects to incur an additional $900 million in costs in the current quarter due to tariffs. Meanwhile, Amazon’s stock dipped slightly, by 0.4%, despite better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the quarter, as the company issued soft guidance for the current period. Duolingo shares soared more than 18% after the language learning app provided a strong revenue forecast for the second quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations.
Oil prices declined more than 1% as OPEC+ prepared to meet on Saturday to discuss June output levels. Brent crude futures fell to $61.15 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures dropped to $58.11 a barrel, both down nearly 8% for the week. Jay Hatfield of Infrastructure Capital Advisors suggested that the market may have passed the most turbulent period regarding tariff concerns.
He predicts a potential summer rally following a “seasonally weak” May-to-June period, though he noted that significant gains might be limited until uncertainties around tariffs, Fed policy, and tax policy are resolved. Barclays analyst Emmanuel Cau commented on the market’s resilience despite rising recession talk. “Earnings are holding up for now, but more companies are sounding cautious on the economic outlook,” he wrote, indicating that the current tension between market gains and recession fears cannot persist indefinitely.
As the market closed on a high note, stocks finished positive, capping off a successful week with the S&P 500 up 2.9%, the Dow gaining 3%, and the Nasdaq advancing 3.4%.
