In this Nov. 5, 2020 file photo, a sign for Wall Street is carved in the side of a building, in New York. Stocks are pushing higher in early trading on Wall Street, Friday, June 4, 2021, putting most major indexes back to gains for the week. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
By Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga
Wall Street closed out a week of mostly choppy trading with broad gains Friday, pushing the S&P 500 to its second straight weekly gain.
The S&P 500 rose 0.9% and finished with a 0.6% gain for the week. Technology stocks were biggest gainers and did the most to drive the broader market higher. Microsoft rose 2.1% and Apple added 1.9%. Communication stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending also made solid gains. Only utilities closed lower.
The rally followed a Labor Department report showing U.S. employers added 559,000 jobs in May. That's an improvement from April’s sluggish gain, but short of economists' forecasts. Still, the lower-than-expected increase in jobs may have opened the door for the Federal Reserve to keep the accelerator floored on its efforts to support the economy, which include monthly bond purchases to keep interest rates low.
“When you see employment numbers like we saw today, which were slightly disappointing, that would give market participants confidence that the Fed will stay on track and keep rates lower for a longer period of time,” said Clinton Warren, global investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. “The market is saying ‘OK, the Fed is going to keep rates lower, that’s good for the stock market, it's good for risk asset classes, and that's what's driving the market higher today.”
The S&P 500 rose 37.04 points to 4,229.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 179.35 points, or 0.5%, to 34,756.39. The rally in technology stocks helped push the Nasdaq to a solid gain. The tech-heavy index climbed 199.98 points, or 1.5%, to 13,814.49.
Smaller company stocks also notched gains. The Russell 2000 added 7.16 points, or 0.3%, to 2,286.41.
The pickup in jobs last month is another sign that the economy continues to recover, even as employment remains relatively shaky and struggling to get back to pre-pandemic levels.
The jobs report showed that companies are still struggling to find enough workers as the economy rapidly recovers from the recession caused by the pandemic. People are either looking for better jobs than they had before the pandemic, retiring early, worried about child care or otherwise taking time on the sidelines from the job market.
“There are still seasonal issues,” said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab. There is, she said, a “disconnect between job openings, which have been incredibly robust, and the desire or willingness to go back to work.”
Bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 1.55% from 1.62% late Thursday. The dip helped push tech stocks higher. Lower interest rates help stocks generally because they can steer some investors away from bonds that are paying little in interest toward riskier investments. Stocks that look the most expensive based on their earnings, such as technology companies, can be among the biggest beneficiaries.
Investors have been worried about rising inflation becoming a long-term issue, rather than the temporary effect from the recovering economy. They are also worried that The Fed could consider pulling its support for the economy if inflation runs too hot.
Inflation has already burst higher across the economy, with prices rising for everything from used automobiles to restaurant meals. Employers are also finding it harder to attract employees, which could force them to raise wages, also adding to inflation.
The contrast between signs of higher inflation and a still-recovering labor market has made it difficult for investors to get a read on what the Fed will do next.
“That's why the market has been constrained in such a tight band of turns over the last, not only week, but throughout this whole year,” Warren said.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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