U.S. stocks jumped Friday as upbeat earnings from Apple (AAPL) lifted morale and a weaker-than-expected jobs report revived bets that the Federal Reserve could cut rates. interest sooner than expected.
Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) futures jumped 1.3%, or more than 450 points, while S&P 500 (^GSPC) futures rose 1.1%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) rose about 1.6%. All three indicators are poised to build on Thursday’s strong closing gains.
The April jobs report painted a picture of a slowing U.S. labor market, as employers added 175,000 jobs and the unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed to 3.9%. Economists expected 240,000 jobs to be created.
The report pushed up bets that the Fed would cut rates sooner than expected. According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders saw about a 50-50 chance of a decline at the July meeting, a sharp rise from Thursday.
Meanwhile, Apple was the corporate star on Friday, with a better-than-expected quarterly profit and a surprise to investors with better-than-estimates revenue from China amid reports of falling Apple sales. iPhone.
As CEO Tim Cook talked about Apple’s plans for AI development – a key focus of this earnings season – it was the company’s plans for a $110 billion stock buyback, the most important in the history of the United States, which have captured the attention of the market. Apple shares rose 7% in premarket trading, which should support the Dow.
The blue-chip index also gets a boost from heavyweight Amgen (AMGN), whose shares soared 13% as comments from its CEO suggested its obesity drug could rival the leaders of the Novo Nordisk (NVO) market.
Learn more: What the Fed’s rate decision means for bank accounts, CDs, loans and credit cards
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