Investing.com– The S&P 500 surged Friday as Apple led a surge in tech just as data showed jobs gains fell short of expectations in April, lifting hopes that the Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates sooner rather than later.
At 16:00 ET (20:00 GMT), Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 450 points, or 1.2%, S&P 500 rose 1.3%, and NASDAQ Composite climbed 2%.
Treasury yields slide after nonfarm payrolls shows slowing jobs growth
Treasury yields slipped on renewed hopes for rate cuts this year, after the data showed the U.S. economy added jobs at a slower rate in April, with only 175,000 jobs added last month, compared with a revised 315,000 in March.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell 6 basis points to 4.511%.
The unemployment rate also rose to 3.9% in April, climbing from 3.8% the prior month, but still the 27th consecutive month that the jobless rate has been below 4%. Crucially average hourly earnings growth slowed to 0.2% on the month.
“The data shows a labor market coming into better balance and we continue to expect three cuts this year,” Morgan Stanley said in a Friday note.
Apple leads tech higher on earnings, buyback
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) jumped 6%, leading the broader tech sector higher after Q2 results topped estimates and the iPhone maker unveiled a $110B stock buyback program as well as dividend hike.
iPhone sales fell just shy of analyst expectations, but the results were better than feared, particularly in China, in which slowing growth has been a key worry for investors.
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Apple is expected to see the return of “renaissance of growth” as iPhone demand in China as well as services revenue are slowly starting to show signs of a turnaround, Wedbush Securities said in a Friday report. The tech giant’s move into AI, Wedbush adds, could drive the next supercycle.
Block slips despite Q1 beat; Amgen confident over weight-loss drug
Block (NYSE:SQ) fell more than 1% even as the payments firm posted first-quarter earnings that topped estimates, driven by boost in Bitcoin.
Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) stock surged nearly 12% after the biotechnology firm expressed confidence after completing an interim analysis of its mid-stage study of experimental weight-loss drug MariTide.
Cybersecurity firm Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) slid 16% after weak guidance overshadowed strong quarterly earnings.
Crypto stocks mostly higher on Bitcoin rally, but Coinbase falters
With the exception of Coinbase, crypto-related stocks including MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR), Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:MARA) were in the ascendency as bitcoin clawed back some recent losses, rising more than 4%.
Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) fell more than 2% but some Wall Street continue to back the stock following the crypto exchange’s better-than-expected quarterly results.
Pointing to various catalysts including further adoption, stablecoin bill, Base, derivative, international expansion that can support the stock, Oppenheimer lifted its price target on the stock to $282 from $276.
(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this item.)
