US markets end sharply higher amid upbeat jobs data

03 May 2025 Evaluate

The US markets ended sharply higher on Friday following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing U.S. job growth far exceeded street estimates in the month of April. The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 177,000 jobs in April compared to expectations for an increase of about 130,000 jobs. At the same time, the jumps in employment in February and March were downwardly revised to 102,000 jobs and 185,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 58,000 jobs. The report also said the unemployment rate came in at 4.2 percent in April, unchanged from the previous month and in line with street estimates.

Some buying interest came in reaction to indications China is open to trade talks with the U.S., with a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce saying U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed their willingness to negotiate with China on tariffs. The strength on Wall Street came a despite a slump by shares of Apple (AAPL), with the tech giant tumbling by 3.7 percent after reporting its quarterly results after the close of Thursday's trading. On the sectoral front, Airline stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 6.0 percent.

Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 564.47 points or 1.39 percent to 41,317.43, Nasdaq surged 266.99 points or 1.51 percent to 17,977.73 and S&P500 was up by 82.53 points or 1.47 percent to 5,686.67.


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