Financial Markets                      05/02 15:26

   

   Wall Street extended its gains to a ninth straight day Friday, marking the 
stock market's longest winning streak since 2004 and reclaiming the ground it 
lost since President Donald Trump escalated his trade war in early April.

   The rally was spurred by a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job 
market and resurgent hope for a ratcheting down in the U.S. trade showdown with 
China.

   The S&P 500 climbed 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.4%, and 
the Nasdaq composite rose 1.5%.

   The gains were broad. Roughly 90% of stocks and every sector in the S&P 500 
advanced. Technology stocks were among the companies doing the heaviest 
lifting. Microsoft rose 2.3% and Nvidia rose 2.5%. Apple, however, fell 3.7% 
after the iPhone maker estimated that tariffs will cost it $900 million.

   Banks and other financial companies also made solid gains. JPMorgan Chase 
rose 2.3% and Visa closed 1.5% higher.

   Employers added 177,000 jobs in April. That marks a slowdown in hiring from 
March, but it was solidly better than economists anticipated. However, the 
latest job figures don't yet reflect the effects on the economy of President 
Donald Trump's across-the-board tariffs against America's trading partners. 
Many of the more severe tariffs that were supposed to go into effect in April 
were delayed by three months, with the notable exception of tariffs against 
China.

   "We've already seen how financial markets will react if the administration 
moves forward with their initial tariff plan, so unless they take a different 
tack in July when the 90-day pause expires, we will see market action similar 
to the first week of April," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer 
for Northlight Asset Management.

   The S&P 500 slumped 9.1% during the first week of April as Trump announced a 
major escalation of his trade war with more tariffs. The market has now clawed 
back its losses since then, helped by a string of resilient earnings reports 
from U.S. companies, hopes for de-escalation of trade tensions with China and 
expectations that the Federal Reserve will still be able to cut rates a few 
times this year.

   The benchmark index is still down 3.3% so far this year, and 7.4% below the 
record it reached in February.

   All told, the S&P 500 rose 82.53 points to 5,686.67. The Dow gained 564.47 
points to 41,317.43, and the Nasdaq added 266.99 points to 17,977.73.

   The job market is being closely watched for signs of stress amid trade war 
tensions. Strong employment has helped fuel solid consumer spending and 
economic growth over the last few years. Economists are now worried about the 
impact that taxes on imports will have on consumers and businesses, especially 
about how higher costs will hurt hiring and spending.

   The economy is already showing signs of strain. The U.S. economy shrank at a 
0.3% annual pace during the first quarter of the year. It was slowed by a surge 
in imports as businesses tried to get ahead of Trump's tariffs.

   The current round of tariffs and the on-again-off-again nature of Trump's 
policy has overshadowed planning for businesses and households. Companies have 
been cutting and withdrawing financial forecasts because of the uncertainty 
over how much tariffs will cost them and how much they will squeeze consumers 
and sap spending.

   Hopes remain that Trump will roll back some of his tariffs after negotiating 
trade deals with other countries. China has been a key target, with tariffs of 
145%. Its Commerce Ministry said Beijing is evaluating overtures from the U.S. 
regarding the tariffs.

   Investors had a relatively quiet day of earnings reports following a busy 
week. Exxon Mobil rose 0.4%, recovering from an early slide, after reporting 
its lowest first-quarter profit in years. Rival Chevron rose 1.6% after it also 
reported its smallest first-quarter profit in years.

   Falling crude oil prices have weighed on the sector. Crude oil prices in the 
U.S. are down about 17% for the year. They fell below $60 per barrel this week, 
which is a level at which many producers can no longer turn a profit.

   Block slumped 20.4% after reporting a sharp drop in first-quarter profit 
that fell short of analysts' forecasts. The financial technology company behind 
Cash App cited a pullback in consumer spending on travel and other 
discretionary items as a key reason for the results.

   Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury 
rose to 4.31% from 4.22% late Thursday.

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