Wall Street Surges Amid Positive Jobs Report

U.S. stocks rose on Friday (May 2, 2025), buoyed by a better-than-expected report on April’s non-farm payrolls, which eased recession fears and put the S&P 500 on track for its longest winning streak in over two decades. Specifically, the S&P 500 at Wall Street gained 1.61%, setting the broader market index on course for its ninth consecutive day of gains. If the index closes higher, it will mark its longest winning streak since November 2004. The industrial Dow Jones surged by 612 points or 1.50%, while the Nasdaq climbed 1.81%. With today’s gains, the S&P 500 has now recovered from losses incurred on April 2 when President Donald Trump announced ‘mutual’ tariffs. This comes a day after the tech-heavy Nasdaq achieved the same feat. The dollar weakened, with yields on government bonds sliding as the politically sensitive two-year yield jumped 10 basis points to 3.80%. Oil fell over 1% as OPEC+ moved to accelerate discussions about further production increases. April’s non-farm payrolls exceeded expectations, surpassing the 133,000 jobs forecast by economists polled by Dow Jones, showcasing a cool but resilient labor market. While this number still lags significantly behind March’s addition of 228,000 jobs, it is much better than feared last month amid growing recession concerns. The unemployment rate settled at 4.2%, as expected, calming traders’ fears about the impact of Trump’s tariffs on the economy.