U.S. stocks reversed earlier losses and slowly started to rise again on Friday after a jobs report, considered key to expectations for rate cuts, showed much stronger than expected workforce growth.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.3%, after a lackluster session Thursday for the three major gauges. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) remained in the red, hovering just below the flatline.
Investors have been raising stocks on expectations that further data would point to an economic slowdown. But the Labor Department report provided more evidence that parts of the economy are too hot for the central bank’s fight against inflation, fueling a narrative of keeping rates high for longer.
May’s long-awaited jobs report reinforced the idea that pulling interest rates from their highest levels in two decades likely won’t happen until the fall.
The US economy added 272,000 jobs in May, exceeding expectations. However, the unemployment rate did rise to 4.0%.
Read more: What influence does the labor market have on inflation?
Elsewhere in the markets, a livestream apparently promised by GameStop (GME) booster Keith Gill, aka “Roaring Kitty,” is also awaiting. The event, scheduled for Friday afternoon ET, would be Gill’s first live YouTube appearance since he helped spark the meme stock rally three years ago.
GameStop shares closed 47% higher on Thursday but fell sharply after the video game retailer said it would sell up to 75 million shares and said first-quarter sales fell.
Also on deck is the completion of Nvidia’s (NVDA) 10-for-1 stock split, expected after the market closes. A midweek rally briefly lifted the AI chipmaker to a $3 trillion valuation, but its shares have lost momentum as short bets against the company pile up.
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