NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rose appreciably Friday following the release of a strong jobs report which sent the U.S. dollar higher, and saw the S&P 500 reclaim the 6,000 level..
Nonfarm payrolls rose 139,000 in May, above expectations of 125,000 and slightly below the revised 147,000 in April. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 percent.
"Stronger than expected jobs growth and stable unemployment underlines the resilience of the U.S. labor market in the face of recent shocks," Lindsay Rosner, head of multi-sector fixed income investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management told CNBC Friday.
Rosner was not the only analyst to laud the report. "The nonfarm payrolls report came in better than expected," Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise, told CNBC Friday. "It's showing that the labor market is holding up very well in spite of kind of some slowing growth trends."
Major U.S. stock indices posted strong gains, with the S&P 500 closing above the 6,000-point mark for the first time since February as investor sentiment continued to improve.
Key Index Performances
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S&P 500 (^GSPC): The broad-market index climbed 61.06 points or 1.03 percent to settle at 6,000.36, marking its first close above the psychologically significant threshold in four months. Trading volume reached 2.535 billion shares.
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Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI): The blue-chip benchmark advanced 443.13 points or 1.05 percent to 42,762.87, with 411.92 million shares changing hands.
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NASDAQ Composite (^IXIC): Technology stocks led the charge, pushing the index up 231.50 points or 1.20 percent to 19,529.95 on heavy volume of 6.238 billion shares.
Market Drivers
Friday's rally was supported by:
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Renewed optimism about corporate earnings
- The strong nonfarm payrolls report
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Stabilizing Treasury yields
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Sector rotation into growth stocks
The S&P 500's return above 6,000 represents a 15 percent recovery from its April lows, while the NASDAQ's outperformance continues its 18 percent year-to-date gain.
U.S. Dollar Strengthens Against Euro and Pound as Yen Weakens Further
The U.S. dollar showed a strong performance in Friday's foreign exchange session, gaining ground against the euro and British pound while extending its rally against the Japanese yen.
Key Currency Movements
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EUR/USD (Euro / US Dollar): The euro fell 0.44 percent Friday to 1.1394, pressured by concerns over the Eurozone's economic outlook, and the ECB's rate cut on Thursday from 2.25 percent to 2 percent..
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USD/JPY (US Dollar / Japanese Yen): The dollar surged 0.91 percent to 144.81, hitting fresh multi-decade highs as the yen remained under pressure from the Bank of Japan's dovish stance.
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USD/CAD (US Dollar / Canadian Dollar): The greenback edged up 0.17 percent to 1.3697, supported by stabilizing oil prices.
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GBP/USD (British Pound / US Dollar): Sterling declined 0.28 percent to 1.3529 Friday, as traders awaited next week's UK economic data.
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USD/CHF (US Dollar / Swiss Franc): The U.S. dollar rose 0.31 percent to 0.8219, benefiting from safe-haven demand amid geopolitical tensions.
Commodity Currencies Under Pressure
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AUD/USD (Australian Dollar / US Dollar): The Aussie slipped 0.13 percent to 0.6496, weighed down by weaker commodity prices.
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NZD/USD (New Zealand Dollar / US Dollar): The kiwi dropped 0.26 percent to 0.6017, reflecting broader risk-off sentiment.
Market Drivers
Traders attributed Friday's U.S. dollar's strength to expectations that the Federal Reserve will maintain higher interest rates for longer, while the European Central Bank and Bank of England face growing pressure to ease policy. Meanwhile, the yen's continued weakness has added to the broader sentiment.
Global Markets Wrap Up Mixed Friday Trading Session
Global stock indices closed with mixed results on Friday, as investors weighed economic data and central bank signals ahead of the weekend.
Canadian Market Shows Steady Growth
The S&P/TSX Composite (^GSPTSE) posted moderate gains, adding 86.84 points or 0.33 percent to close at 26,429.13, with trading volume of 260.058 million shares.
European Markets
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) in London edged higher Friday, closing at 8,837.91, up 26.87 points or 0.30 percent. Meanwhile, Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) dipped slightly to 24,304.46, losing 19.12 points or 0.08 percent.
In France the CAC 40 (^FCHI) rose 14.60 points or 0.19 percent to 7,804.87.
The broader EURO STOXX 50 (^STOXX50E) gained 19.62 points or 0.36 percent, settling at 5,430.17, while the Euronext 100 (^N100) climbed 5.07 points or 0.32 percent to 1,594.66.
Belgium's BEL 20 (^BFX) advanced 12.73 points or 0.28 percent, closing at 4,531.08.
Asia and Pacific Markets
In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (^HSI) fell 114.43 points or 0.48 percent to 23,792.54, while in Singapore Friday, the STI Index (^STI) rose 16.60 points or 0.42 percent to 3,934.29.
Japan's Nikkei 225 (^N225) climbed 187.12 points or 0.50 percent to 37,741.61, while China's SSE Composite (000001.SS) inched up 1.26 points or 0.04 percent to 3,385.36.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 (^AXJO) declined 23.20 points or 0.27 percent to 8,515.70, and the All Ordinaries (^AORD) dropped 26.70 points or 0.30 percent to 8,741.90.
India's S&P BSE Sensex (^BSESN) outperformed, surging 746.95 points or 0.92 percent to 82,188.99, while in Indonesia the IDX Composite (^JKSE) rose 44.39 points or 0.63 percent to 7,113.42.
Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (^KLSE) slipped 1.33 points or 0.09 percent to 1,516.79.
In New Zealand on Friday, the S&P/NZX 50 (^NZ50) dipped 13.67 points or 0.11 percent to 12,563.48, while South Korea's KOSPI (^KS11) jumped 41.21 points or 1.49 percent to 2,812.05.
In Taiwan the TWSE (^TWII) saw a marginal decline, losing 13.77 points or 0.06 percent to 21,660.66.
Middle East Markets
Mideast markets were mostly closed on Friday and will re-open on Sunday.
Africa Markets
South Africa's Top 40 USD Net TRI Index (^JN0U.JO) fell 37.23 points or 0.69 percent to 5,353.54.
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