Wall Street surged and the Nasdaq closed just short of its record high after the May jobs report provided a stunning upside surprise for investors, plus more in today’s Closing Bell on Money & Markets.
The Top Story
The Nasdaq closed just three points shy of its record high after the coronavirus crash was triggered in February. The S&P 500 and the Dow are now respectively around 6% and 8% off their record closing levels, as well.
The U.S. economy added a remarkable 2.5 million jobs last month, rebounding from April’s record 20.7 million payrolls drop and pushing the unemployment rate down to 13.3%. Analysts saw unemployment soaring to a historic 19.8%.
U.S. Treasury yields rose on the jobs data, giving a boost to interest rate-sensitive banks and sending the S&P 500 Banks index up almost 4.9%.
Small caps and transportation stocks also outperformed, with the Russell 2000 and Dow Transportation up over 3.7% and 3.1%, respectively.
The Dow Jones rose 3.1%. The S&P 500 rocketed 2.6% higher and the Nasdaq rose 2.1%.
Stock Market Update: Closing Bell*
S&P 500: 3,193 (+2.62%)
DOW: 27,110 (+3.15%)
NASDAQ: 9,814 (+2.06%)
RUSSELL 2000: 1,505 (+3.74%)
VIX: 24.52 (-5%)
GOLD: $1,686.50 (-2.37%)
BITCOIN: $9.732.01 (-0.8%)
U.S. 10-YEAR YIELD: 0.87% (+0.058%)
*- as of 4:10 p.m.
A Big Win
In today’s Opening Bell, we told you to be on the lookout for Slack Technologies Inc. (NYSE: WORK) after the company pulled its full-year guidance as part of its quarterly earnings report. Slack reported a jump in quarterly revenue and an earnings loss of $0.02 per share. Shares of Slack fell 14%.
We also told you to watch American Airlines Group Inc. (Nasdaq: AAL) as the company continued to ride the wave of increased sentiment over summer travel schedules. American announced on Thursday it was increasing its July flight schedule to 55%. Shares of American were up. 11.2%.
Finally, we told you to watch Broadcom Inc. (Nasdaq: AVGO) after the semiconductor company reported a 4% increase in revenue. Shares of Broadcom rose 2.6%.
Golden Nuggets
Spot Gold prices fell 1.7% after stronger-than-expected U.S. non-farm payroll data pushed demand for safe havens down.
Bullion has declined around 2.6% so far this week, on track for its biggest fall since the week ending March 13 as investors took on more risk following the better-than-expected jobs report.
The data comes ahead of a two-day policy meeting of the Federal Reserve next week. The central bank has injected massive stimulus and cut interest rates to near zero to cushion the blow from the coronavirus pandemic.
Gold futures fell 2.4% to $1,686.40 an ounce. Silver futures dropped 2.9% to $17.54 an ounce.
Platinum was down 3.6% to trade at $833.60 an ounce while palladium jumped 1.8% to $1,963.90.
Cannabis Corner
Another Canadian cannabis company is seeking creditor protection.
According to Marijuana Business Daily, Toronto-based Beleave is filing for a creditor protection order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
The company has received a debtor-in-possession loan from Hegedus Consulting Service to fund the proceedings under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. Beleave’s assets were worth about $17.3 million at the end of 2019, according to the filing notes.
States, DOJ Investigating Google’s Ad Business
Several state attorneys general are probing Google’s ad technology business, leading to a potential breakup of the segment.
According to CNBC, 50 attorneys general and the Department of Justice are eyeing a suit against the internet giant — which is parented by Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) — perhaps as soon as a few months from now.
The DOJ and states are debating whether to combine their suits as the entities look into antitrust violations.
Alphabet shares were up nearly 1.7% in afternoon trading.
Today’s Big Winners:
S&P 500: Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) +33.7%
Nasdaq: Align Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: ALGN) +10.8%
Dow: Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) +11.5%
Today’s Big Losers:
S&P 500: Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) -3.3%
Nasdaq: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: VRTX) -2.6%
Dow: Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) -0.4%
Check back for the most important news and numbers each day after the Closing Bell, only on Money & Markets.