Stocks Rally On Strong Jobs Numbers; Tesla Rebounds As Trump-Musk Feud Softens: What's Driving Markets Friday?
Wall Street surged into rally mode during the final trading session of the week as better-than-expected jobs data helped ease fears of an economic slowdown.
In May, nonfarm payrolls increased by 139,000—a slight dip from April's downwardly revised 147,000, but above economist forecasts of 130,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, while wage growth beat expectations, signaling a potential boost to consumer spending.
The S&P 500 rose 0.9% nearing the 6,000 mark, its highest level since Feb. 24. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 1% to over 21,720, putting tech stocks within striking distance—just 2 percentage points—of record highs.
In equities, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) rebounded 5.6%, partially recovering from Thursday's 14% plunge triggered by a high-profile clash between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump. Cooler rhetoric on Friday helped sentiment, after the White House said no call between Trump and Musk was currently planned.
Stronger-than-expected economic data also lifted the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields, with the 10-year yield climbing 10 basis points to 4.5%.
Gold dropped 0.9% to $3,321, heading for its worst session of the week. In contrast, crude oil rallied 2.5% to nearly $65 a barrel—its highest since early April—on signs of easing geopolitical risk as Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to meet, calming market fears of a renewed tariff war that could dent global energy demand.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) advanced 3.4% to $105,000, nearly erasing Thursday's decline.
Read also: Trump-Musk Feud Sends Betting Markets Into Overdrive: Here’s What Traders See Next
Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs
Major Indices
Price
Chg (%)
Russell 2000
2,126.31
1.4%
Nasdaq 100
21,727.92
1.0%
S&P 500
5,993.56
0.9%
Dow Jones
42,648.75
0.8%
According to Benzinga Pro data:
- The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) rose 0.8% to $597.90.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) rose 0.8% to $427.22.
- The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) rose 0.9% to $529.17.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) rallied 1.4% to $211.34.
- The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) outperformed, up 2%; the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) lagged, down 0.1%.
Friday’s Stock Movers
- Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) fell 4% despite slightly beating the Street’s estimates on both sales and earnings last quarter.
- Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) tumbled 20% as strong first-quarter results were overshadowed by a lowered full-year profit outlook, driven by rising tariff costs and increased markdowns.
- Other stocks reacting to earnings included DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU) down 18.4%, Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) down 3.7%, Samsara Inc. (NYSE:IOT), down 4.9% and ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) down 14.5%.
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