On Friday, Eastern Time, the US May non-farm payrolls data came in better than expected, easing market concerns about an economic slowdown and triggering a sharp rally in US stocks.
All three major indices rose more than 1%, with the S&P 500 closing above 6,000 for the first time since February, though still more than 2% below its all-time high set in February.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.05% to 42,762.87; the S&P 500 rose 1.03% to 6,000.36; and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.20% to 19,529.95.
(Minute-by-minute charts of the three major indices, source: TradingView)
All three major indices posted gains for the week, with the S&P 500 up 1.5%, the Dow up 1.2%, and the Nasdaq up 2.2%. Thanks to the recent rebound, all three major indices have turned positive for the year.
Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday showed that non-farm payrolls increased by 139,000 in May, a slowdown from the previous month’s figure but higher than market expectations. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2%.
The jobs report was released as other data suggested that US job growth may be slowing amid uncertainty over trade policy.
The latest non-farm payrolls data provided a basis for the US Fed to maintain interest rates unchanged this summer. As a result, traders lowered their expectations for interest rate cuts in the coming months.
“The non-farm payrolls data came in better than expected, suggesting that the labour market remains healthy despite a slowing growth trend,” said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise.
“There is still uncertainty about the inflationary impact of tariffs, which are expected to start showing up in economic data this summer. The market is now waiting to see the real impact of these factors on growth and earnings in the coming quarters. We’re essentially back to where we were in February,” Saglimbene said.
Circle, the “first stablecoin stock,” extended its rally, closing up more than 29% on its second day of trading, with cumulative gains of over 247% in two trading days.
Performance of Popular Stocks
Major tech stocks rose across the board, with Apple up 1.64%, Microsoft up 0.58%, Nvidia up 1.24%, Google up 3.25%, Amazon up 2.72%, Meta up 1.91%, and Tesla up 3.67%.
Among popular Chinese ADRs, gains and losses were mixed. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell 0.06%, with Alibaba down 0.48%, JD.com up 0.09%, Pinduoduo up 1.28%, NIO up 0.28%, XPeng Motors down 2.40%, Li Auto up 0.85%, Bilibili up 1.46%, Baidu down 0.05%, NetEase down 1.25%, and Tencent Music up 1.01%.
Company News
[Tesla Produces 8 Millionth EV at Giga Berlin]
On June 6, Tesla announced that its 8 millionth electric vehicle (EV) rolled off the production line at Giga Berlin, with the vehicle being a Model Y.
[Lululemon Plunges 20%, Lowers Full-Year Profit Forecast]
Athletic apparel brand Lululemon (LULU) closed down 19.80% on Friday, marking its worst single-day performance since March 2020.
Lululemon had previously lowered its full-year outlook, projecting Q2 net revenue to be between $2.54 billion and $2.56 billion, falling short of analysts’ consensus estimate of $2.57 billion.
[Virgin Galactic Announces Potential Resumption of Commercial Spaceflight Services]
Virgin Galactic’s shares surged over 16% intraday but closed up 2.88%. The company announced that its commercial spaceflight services are expected to resume, signaling a new phase in the restart of its space tourism business.
[Fitch Upgrades Uber’s Rating to BBB+]
Fitch Ratings upgraded Uber’s (UBER) long-term issuer default rating (IDR) to “BBB+” and assigned a commercial paper rating of “F1.”
[Deutsche Bank: Exploring Stablecoin or Tokenized Deposits]
In a recent report on Friday, Sabih Behzad, Head of Digital Assets and Currency Transformation at Deutsche Bank, stated that the bank is exploring stablecoins and various forms of tokenized deposits.
It is understood that the options being evaluated by Germany’s largest bank include issuing its own token or joining industry consortium initiatives, while also exploring the development of its own tokenized deposit solutions for payment purposes.
[Switzerland Unveils Banking Reform Proposal; UBS Faces $26 Billion in Additional Capital Requirements]
According to the banking reform proposal put forward by the Swiss government, UBS Group will face up to $26 billion in new capital requirements over the next decade. Following months of uncertainty that weighed on the share price of the Zurich-based bank, the Swiss Federal Council announced on Friday that it will require UBS’s parent company to fully capitalize its foreign subsidiaries. The Swiss government estimates that this will force UBS to increase capital for its main Swiss operations by up to $23 billion, with the remaining capital to be raised through other measures.
(Source)