Major US stock indices on Friday gained, with the S&P 500 ending at a record-high close, as energy stocks bounced back along with oil prices and US job growth rebounded.
US non-farm payrolls last month surged by 211,000 jobs after a paltry gain of 79,000 in March and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 percent, near a 10-year low.
Energy was the best performing sector, rising 1.6 percent, after falling sharply a day earlier.
Photo: Reuters
Oil prices rebounded following assurances by Saudi Arabia that Russia is ready to join OPEC in extending supply cuts.
“There has been and probably will continue to be a little bit of a fear that perhaps the economy isn’t accelerating like people thought it would or want it to,” said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services LLC in Hammond, Indiana.
“So any day where you get a little bit more confirmation that perhaps the economy is okay — and we got that today in the sense of an okay jobs report, oil is up, transports are doing better today — that probably is something that helped the broader market,” Carlson said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55.47 points, or 0.26 percent, to 21,006.94, the S&P 500 gained 9.77 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,399.29 and the NASDAQ Composite added 25.42 points, or 0.42 percent, to 6,100.76.
For the week, the Dow rose 0.3 percent from 20,940.51, the S&P gained 0.6 percent from 2,384.20 and the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.9 percent from 6,047.61.
After seven sessions of not moving more than 0.2 percent in either direction, the S&P 500 on Friday eclipsed that range as stocks strengthened late in the day.
The S&P 500 has gained 12.1 percent since US President Donald Trump’s Nov. 8 last year election, fueled by his plans for tax cuts, infrastructure spending and deregulation.
However, the rally had slowed as some investors questioned Trump’s ability to enact his agenda.
The US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting this week.
The central bank downplayed weak first-quarter economic growth while emphasizing the strong labor market, in a sign it was still on track for two more rate rises this year.
Investors are pricing in a 75 percent chance of a hike in June, according to Thomson Reuters data.
In corporate news, IBM Corp shares fell 2.5 percent after Warren Buffett said he sold about one-third of Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s stake in the company.
Earnings season has come in generally above expectations, encouraging investors.
Shares of health insurer Cigna Co and IT services provider Cognizant Tech Solutions Corp rose after their respective reports.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by a 2.66-to-1 ratio; on NASDAQ, a 1.39-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 55 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the NASDAQ Composite recorded 123 new highs and 67 new lows.
About 6.5 billion shares changed hands in US exchanges on Friday, just below the 6.6 billion daily average over the past 20 sessions.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
RSS