Stocks ended higher Friday following a better-than expected monthly jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 443.13 points, or 1.05%, to finish the session at 42,762.87, while the S&P 500 gained 1.03%, surpassing the 6,000 level for the first time since late February, to close at 6,000.36.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.20% to end the day at 19,529.95.
"The slowdown in the job market has been quite smooth so far without many surprises," said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial. "If payroll growth trudges on like this, the Fed will likely remain in 'wait and see’ mode. Markets breathed a sigh of relief after this morning’s payroll release."
Tesla shares finished up nearly 4%, after a 14% drop in the previous session that was precipitated by CEO Elon Musk's very public blowup with President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, Trump said that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Lutnick would travel to London along with U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer on June 9 for renewed trade talks, adding that "the meeting should go very well."
Updated 3:55 p.m. ET
Stocks are headed to weekly gains of 1% or more as the market recovers from worries ahead of the jobs report and the fallout from the Donald Trump/Elon Musk breakup.
Headed into the close, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index is up 1.1% to 6,003. It hasn't closed above that level since Feb. 21, and it touched as low as 4,835 on May 5 in the market reaction to the Trump tariff plan.
The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.3% to 19542, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was enjoying a 462-point gain, or 1.1%, to 42,782.
Updated 2:39 p.m. ET
As stocks move into the afternoon ahead of the first full weekend of June, the big rally is still alive and well.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is up 1.2% to 6,011. It hasn't closed above that level since Feb. 21, and it touched as low as 4,835 on May 5 in the market reaction to the Trump tariff plan.
The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.5% to 19,588, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was enjoying a 473-point gain, or 1.1%, to 42,793.
It's fair to call the market party a relief rally. The fear was that the jobs report from the Labor Department would show some major tariff-related weakness. Instead, it showed job growth of 139,000 for May, more than the expected 125,000.
The rally is quite broad. All 11 sectors of the S&P 500 are higher on the day, led by communications services, consumer discretionary , energy, and stocks.
The first two sectors bring in three big players in the Magnificent 7 group of stocks: Google-parent Alphabet
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, Facebook-parent Meta Platforms
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and Tesla
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, up 5.4% on Friday to $300.19.
Oil-and-gas producer APA Corp.
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is leading the energy sector, up 3.6% to $18.50.
Tesla, of course, is helmed by Elon Musk. His falling out with Donald Trump this week has been so dramatic, wild and crazy that Tesla shares fell 14.3% on Thursday, by far the worst performer in the Nasdaq-100 Index. That said, the stock is STILL up 35% since its April 8 low of $221.86 and DOWN 38% from its 52-week high of $488.54 on Dec. 18.
Updated 10:36 am EDT
Stocks sharply higher; Tesla shares recoup a bit
In the first hour of trading stocks are sharply higher. At last check the Dow 30 were up 1.1%, the S&P 500 added 1.02%, the Nasdaq Composite tacked on 1.19% and the Russell 2000 moved up 1.23%.
The stronger-than-expected jobs numbers are prompting the market move. The S&P has ticked up past 6000 for the first time since late February.
Tesla shares rebounded a bit, 4.2% at last check, from the drubbing they took yesterday as the schism between CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump burst wider.
Stock Market Today
Yesterday, the big news was that Best Buddies Elon Musk and President Trump had broken up. That sent markets into a topsy-turvy tailspin, knocking 14% off of Tesla's
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share price. People seem surprised?
But today is a new day and Trump and Musk are, or are not, scheduled to have a phone call following a cooling-off period overnight. Time will tell.
The big news today is jobs! And the news is good for workers.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this morning that payroll employment increased by 139,000 in May, leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.2%.
This was better than expected, though it does show some softening over prior months' growth.
Investors are cheering the news, with stock market futures rallying before the market open. S&P 500 futures are now up nearly 0.8% from yesterday's close and 0.4% since the release of this data.
Gold and crude oil are both higher this morning, although each had a different reaction to the U.S. economic news. Crude oil rallied on economic strength, while gold initially spiked lower, then recouped.
Do you know what's not doing as well? The bond market.
U.S. treasuries are lower across the curve, sending yields, which move in the opposite direction of prices, higher.
Why are investors selling bonds if the news was so good?
The president and others have been calling for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. A strong economy suggests that those cuts may not be needed. Chairman Jerome Powell may choose to stay the course and any rate cuts could be pushed out toward year-end.
Which stocks should you be watching today?
Over on TheStreet Pro, Sarge Guilfoyle reports that Lululemon
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and DocuSign
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DOCU
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are getting pounded after their earnings reports highlighted poor guidance.
Broadcom
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AVGO
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provided stronger-than-expected guidance but is now trading around 3% lower.
Here's a chart of Broadcom for the past five trading days, including after-hours action, shown in grey.
