US stocks rise after jobs data shows labor market strengthening after disappointing April report

Peter Tuchman, right, works among fellow traders at a post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, March 4, 2020.

AP Photo/Richard Drew

US stocks rose Friday as investors cheered May jobs data that indicated a strengthening labor market after a disappointing April reading.

Non-farm payrolls showed the US economy added 559,000 jobs in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. However, that was slightly lower than the 674,000 median estimate economists surveyed by Bloomberg were predicting.

"The May nonfarm payroll report showed that the economy is still far from showing substantial progress with the labor market recovery," Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in a note.

He continued: "Labor market hiring remains modest at best and this should support a complete labor market recovery for the Fed at some point between the end of 2022 and early 2023."

The reading shows a sharp acceleration from April's dismal report, which saw job growth land well below economist forecasts. The May increase marks a fifth straight month of job additions.

In the bond market, the 10-year US Treasury yields slightly fell to 1.604% compared with Thursday's 1.624%.

US stocks closed mostly lower Thursday as investors mulled over a new report that President Joe Biden may be open to a lower tax hike for corporations. Mega-cap tech stocks led losses, with Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon all down at least 1% Thursday. Tesla fell as much as 5%.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Friday:

AMC Entertainment has asked shareholders to let it issue another 25 million shares in the wake of the stock's 2,300% rally, saying it will fortify the movie-theater chain with the means to chase acquisitions "hard" and turn itself around. The company CEO Adam Aron revealed this in a YouTube interview with Trey's Trades Thursday night.

Meanwhile, billionaire investor Bill Ackman confirmed that his blank check company, Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, is in talks to spend about $4 billion for a 10% stake in Universal Music Group. He also unveiled plans to launch a new investment vehicle and deploy up to $14 billion on future transactions.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin slipped as much as 8% after Elon Musk signaled a potential breakup with the digital asset by posting a broken-heart emoji and a reference to a popular Linkin Park song. Bitcoin has fallen more than 40% since its April record high of near $65,000.

West Texas Intermediate crude was up 0.60%, to $69.22 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, was also up 0.52%, to $71.68 per barrel,

Gold was down 1.9% to $1873.70 an ounce.

Read the original article on Business Insider