Wall Street indices surged on Friday to end the week on an upbeat note after the latest non-farm payrolls report came in better than expected, easing fears of an economic slowdown, thereby boosting investor confidence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 443.13 points higher, up 1.05% at 42,762.87, having risen by more than 600 points intraday. The S&P 500 climbed 1.03% to finish at 6,000.36, marking its first close above the 6,000 level since February. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite clocked 1.20% gains to end at 19,529.95 aided by a broad-based surge in technology stocks.
Friday’s gains came on the back of the US Labour Department’s May employment report, which showed payrolls rising by 139,000, beating economists’ expectations of 125,000, though slightly lower than April’s downwardly revised figure of 147,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, a signal that the labour market remains resilient despite broader economic uncertainties.
The upbeat data supported the view that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to rush into cutting interest rates, as it balances inflation risks with strength in the labour market. Investors cheered the report, seeing it as a sign of the resilient economy amid ongoing concerns over trade tariffs and monetary policy.
Tech stocks led the surge, with Tesla rebounding 4 % after a sailing through a 14% decline on Thursday, triggered by CEO Elon Musk’s public spat with President Donald Trump on social media. Heavyweights Apple, Nvidia, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft also closed in positive territory, helping to drive the indexes higher.
With this, all three major indices closed the week in the green. The S&P 500 gained 1.5%, the Dow rose 1.2%, and the Nasdaq jumped 2.2%.
With the S&P 500 now just 2.3% shy of its all-time closing high set in February, Friday’s rally has put focus back on the index as investors sail through uncertain macro conditions.
