On Friday, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed up for the second straight session and the second time this week, with the Dow up 0.66 percent to 34,777.76, a new record close, while the Standard and Poor’s index rose 0.74 percent and the Nasdaly index gained 0.88 percent.
U.S. jobs data falls sharply short of expectations As investors bet on Fed ‘dove still’
The U.S. unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 6.1 percent in April from a year earlier, with only 266,000 new jobs added in the non-agricultural sector, down from 770,000 last month and the 1 million widely expected by major financial institutions, according to the Labor Department. As a result, the Dow and the S.P. index fell slightly at the open, but then rebounded quickly.
Instead of panicking about a temporary pullback in U.S. employment data, investors are betting that the Fed will continue its current loose monetary policy in the face of underemple. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Friday that the jobs data highlight that the U.S. economic recovery will be long, at least until next year, when the U.S. will be fully employed. As a result, investors continued to buy technology stocks, pushing the Nasda index higher.
The Dow and the S.P. closed higher this week
On a weekly basis, the Dow reversed two straight weeks of losses, rising 2.7 per cent this week, the S.P. index gained 1.2 per cent this week and the Nasdaq fell 1.5 per cent this week as technology stocks continued to fall.
German economic data to good Europe’s three major stock markets closed higher on the 7th
European markets, with higher-than-expected German economic data, pushed Europe’s three main stock markets higher on Friday. By the close of the day, London was up 0.76 per cent, Paris was up 0.45 per cent and Frankfurt was up 1.34 per cent. Germany’s exports of goods rose 1.2 percent month-on-month in March, the 11th straight month of month-on-month gains, while imports rose 6.5 percent month-on-month, better than expected, preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Friday.
International oil prices rose slightly on the 7th
On the crude oil market, even as the outbreak in India continues to worsen, investors remain generally bullish on the prospects for a recovery in overall global demand for crude oil as the U.S. and European countries gradually relax their pandemic prevention measures and people resume travel. Light crude futures for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed up 0.29 per cent at $64.90 a barrel as of Friday’s close, while Brent crude for July delivery was up 0.28 per cent at $68.28 a barrel.
International gold prices rose slightly on the 7th
International gold prices rose 0.86 percent to $1,831.3 an ounce on Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Market analysts believe that the weakening of the dollar is the main reason for the day’s rise in gold prices.
