Wall Street rallied as jobs report continues to keep Fed on track

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, March 30, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

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  • Unemployment rate drops to 3.6% versus estimates of 3.7%
  • Nonfarm payrolls rose by 431,000 jobs last month
  • GameStop seeks a stock split amid the renewed hype of memetic stocks
  • Dow Jones rises 0.29%, S&P 500 rises 0.10%, Nasdaq is down 0.05%

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose modestly to start the second quarter on Friday, as the monthly jobs report pointed to a strong labor market likely to keep the Federal Reserve on track to maintain its hawkish stance on policy.

The Labor Department’s employment report showed the rapid pace of hiring by employers while wages continued to rise, although not enough to keep pace with inflation. Read more

US employers added 431,000 jobs in March, which was shy of estimates of 490,000, but still showed solid job gains. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6%, a new low in two years while average hourly earnings rose 5.6% year over year. Read more

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non-farm jobs

The report raised expectations that the central bank is likely to become more aggressive in raising interest rates as it seeks to curb inflation while reversing its easy monetary policy. Read more

“The job gains were broad, and more people are back in the office,” said Brian Jacobsen, senior investment analyst at Allspring Global Investments in Menomoney Falls, Wisconsin.

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“If other data between now and the next Fed meeting remains this pink, the Fed will likely feel comfortable raising it by 50 basis points and announcing a strong balance sheet summary.”

Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) The Standard & Poor’s Index rose 101.13 points, or 0.29%, to 34779.48 points (.SPX) It rose 4.65 points, or 0.10%, to 4,535.06 and the Nasdaq Composite Index (nineteenth) It fell 7.58 points, or 0.05%, to 14,212.94 points.

Expectations of a 50 basis point rate hike at the central bank’s May meeting stand at 71.1%, according to CME FedWatch Tool. At its March meeting, the Fed raised rates by 25 basis points, its first hike since 2018, and a group of central bank policymakers signaled they were ready to raise rates further.

Chicago Federal Reserve Chairman Charles Evans said Friday he didn’t see much risk in using “some” half-point interest rate increases to reduce borrowing costs sooner as long as the goal wasn’t to raise interest rates faster and push them higher.

Other data on Friday showed US manufacturing activity slowed unexpectedly in March, although it remained firmly in expansion territory, as tight supply chains continued to put upward pressure on input prices. Read more

In the wake of the payroll report, US Treasury yields jumped and part of the closely watched yield curve between two-year and 10-year notes, which many considered a reliable indicator of a recession, inverted for the third time this week.

The S&P 500 closed the first quarter on Thursday with its biggest quarterly drop since the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States reached its climax due to concerns about rising prices, which were fueled by the war in Ukraine, and the Fed’s response could slow economic growth. . However, stocks rebounded somewhat in March, with the benchmark index up 3.6%.

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GameStop Corp., a video game retailer (GME.N), part of the “emem stock” trading frenzy last year, pared early gains and was last down 1.47% after announcing a plan to get shareholder approval for a stock split. Read more

Apple company (AAPL.O) It fell 0.78% after JP Morgan removed the stock from its analyst “focus list” along with Qualcomm. (QCOM.O)Which fell by 5.12%. Read more

Advance issues outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by 1.46 to 1; On the Nasdaq, the ratio was 1.27 to 1 in favor of advanced traders.

S&P 500 hit 14 new 52-week highs and seven new lows; The Nasdaq Composite recorded 54 new highs and 101 new lows.

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(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajchak) Editing by Margarita Choi

Our criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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