US stocks rose to more records Friday after a highly anticipated report on the job market bolstered Wall Street's hopes that interest rates may soon get easier.
- The Dow rose 67.87 points, or 0.2%, to close at 39,375.87.
- The S&P 500 climbed 30.17 points, or 0.5%, to 5,567.19. That set an all-time high for a third straight day and closed the S&P's ninth winning week in the last 11.
- The Nasdaq added 0.9% to its own record, gaining 164.46 to 18,352.76.
Altogether, the AP reports, the data reinforced belief on Wall Street that the US economy's growth is slowing under the weight of high interest rates. That's precisely what investors want to see, because a slowdown would keep a lid on inflation and could push the Federal Reserve to begin cutting its main interest rate from the highest level in two decades. The question is whether the economy can remain in this Goldilocks state of not too hot and not too cold, while the Federal Reserve times its next moves precisely. The hope is that the Fed will lower interest rates early and significantly enough to keep the economic slowdown from sliding into a recession, but not so much that it allows inflation to regain strength and take off again.
Gains for some big, influential stocks helped support the market, even though the majority of stocks within the S&P 500 fell. Meta Platforms jumped 5.9%, and Apple added 2.2%.
Amazon rose 1.2% after the announcement of its involvement in a deal for Saks Fifth Avenue will buy Neiman Marcus Group. On the losing end were companies tied closely to cryptocurrency activity, as bitcoin briefly tumbled below $54,000 from nearly $63,000 early this week before recovering a bit. The cryptocurrency's value fell roughly back to where it was in February. Coinbase Global slipped 0.6%, and Robinhood Markets fell 1%. (More stock market stories.)
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