Stocks gain as tech rally overshadows jobs report

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U.S. stocks rose on Friday, with major indexes shaking off an early decline as technology stocks rose and overshadowed both an April jobs report that was below expectations and angst over trade talks between the U.S. and China.

What did the main benchmarks do?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average












DJIA, +0.95%










rose 216 points, or 0.9%, to 24,152, having recovered from a drop of more than 100 points earlier. The blue-chip average has struggled of late, falling in nine of the past 12 sessions, not including Friday.

The S&P 500 index












SPX, +0.89%










rose 21 points, or 0.8%, to 2,650. The Nasdaq Composite Index












COMP, +1.32%










rose 84 points, or 1.2%, to 7,172, with the day’s increase pushing the gauge back in to positive territory for the week. All three indexes had opened lower.

The rise came on gains in technology stocks, with the sector up 0.6%, making it one of the best performers of the day.

For the week, the Dow is down 0.7%, while the S&P 500 is off 0.8% and the Nasdaq has gained 0.7%.

What’s driving markets?

The U.S. created 164,000 new jobs in April, below the 188,000 that had been expected. Separately, the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% from 4.1%, the first time the jobless rate has dropped below 4% since the end of 2000.

In Beijing, U.S. and Chinese officials were meeting for discussions on tariffs and other trade issues. Worries about trade hostilities between the top two global economies have roiled financial markets in recent months.

Read: Here’s how sensitive the stock market has become to ‘trade war’ talk

The U.S. has handed China a lengthy list of demands, The Wall Street Journal reported, including a demand to reduce the bilateral trade deficit by at least $200 billion by the end of 2020. The deficit stood at $375 billion last year.

Several Federal Reserve officials are scheduled to speak on Friday. New York Fed President William Dudley kicks off the speeches at 12:45 p.m. Eastern at Bloomberg headquarters in New York, covering “financial tumult of our times and challenges ahead.”

San Francisco Fed President John Williams is set to appear at a monetary policy conference at the Stanford University’s Hoover Institution at 3 p.m. Eastern. At the same conference, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Randal Quarles steps up at 5:30 p.m. Eastern to talk about liquidity regulation and the Fed’s balance sheet.

Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and Kansas City Fed President Esther George are all slated to take part in a panel discussion at the conference at 8 p.m. Eastern.

What are strategists saying?

“We’re at or near full employment, so the jobs report shouldn’t be a big market mover, compared with issues like wages or trade. If we get through May and June and see that the trade talk was most rhetoric and posturing, that headwind will turn into a tailwind. Conversely, if this spitting match that is going back and forth leads to tariffs being enacted, then the headwind will become stronger,” said Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Trust Co.

Which stocks are in focus?

Apple Inc.












AAPL, +3.37%










 was up 3.4% after CNBC reported Berkshire Hathaway bought 75 million shares of the iPhone maker in the first quarter. The stock was one of the top performers of the day, and it lifted all three major indexes.

Newell Brands Inc.












NWL, +3.75%










rose 3.9% after first-quarter earnings beat forecasts. The consumer goods company also announced an agreement to sell packaging maker The Waddington Group for about $2.3 billion.

Alibaba












BABA, +2.06%










 fell 1% after the Chinese e-commerce giant posted fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and earnings that beat expectations.

Celgene Corp.












CELG, +2.43%










 rose 0.3%. The biotech company posted first-quarter earnings ahead of forecast and provided a 2018 outlook above analysts’ expectations.

VF Corp. shares












VFC, -4.50%










fell 4% despite reporting an adjusted profit that was better than expected and revenue growth of about 22%.

After the close, Berkshire Hathaway Inc.












BRK.A, +1.29%











BRK.B, +1.10%










 is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings report. Chief Executive and Chairman Warren Buffett hosts Berkshire’s annual meeting on Saturday.

Check out: How Warren Buffett’s stock picks for Berkshire Hathaway have performed in 2018

Pandora Media Inc.












P, +23.48%










 shares soared 20% after the streaming-music company late Thursday posted an earnings and revenue beat.

CBS Corp.












CBS, +4.68%










rose 5.6% after the media company late Thursday swung to a quarterly profit and reported a sales beat.

GoPro Inc.












GPRO, +7.36%










 gained 6.2% after the technology company late Thursday posted earnings that beat expectations.

Shake Shack Inc.












SHAK, +23.69%










shares jumped 22% a day after the burger chain posted an earnings beat and lifted its outlook.

What are other markets doing?

European stocks












SXXP, +0.61%










were trading higher, while Asian stocks closed mostly lower.

Gold prices












GCM8, -0.11%










 inched down, while U.S. oil futures












CLM8, +1.05%










 moved slightly higher. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index












DXY, +0.31%










was up 0.1% at 92.539.



Source : MTV