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Nasdaq ends at record as global stocks cheers strong US jobs growth
NEW YORK, May 4, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The tech-rich Nasdaq powered to a fresh
record Friday as Wall Street cheered a much better than expected US jobs
report for April.
European bourses also advanced following the US report, which set
unemployment at a 49-year low.
“No signs of a slowdown here,” said James Knightley, chief international
economist at ING.
The US economy added 263,000 net new positions in April, well above the
200,000 forecast by analysts.
Unemployment fell two tenths to 3.6 percent but the decline was in part
because the pool of workers shrank and fewer people were looking for jobs,
pulling them out of the labor force, the Labor Department reported.
Even with the positive attributes to the April jobs data, the report
showed wage inflation was measured, putting little pressure on the US Federal
Reserve to boost interest rates, analysts said.
“Neither too hot nor too cold,” said Stephen Innes, head of trading at
SPI, calling the US data “another Goldilocks” payroll report.
“The US economy remains in the sweet spot with extremely robust labour
markets driving strong consumption growth but apparently without stoking the
inflationary fires,” he said.
The tech-rich Nasdaq climbed 1.6 percent to 8,164.00, about two points
above a record earlier in the week.
Bourses in London, Paris and Frankfurt advanced modestly.
Despite the strong jobs data, FTN Financial’s Chris Low pointed to a
report from the Institute for Supply Management that showed slowing services
sector activity.
“I don’t think everything is quite as rosy as the jobs numbers suggest but
for now traders are happy,” FTN Financial’s Chris Low told AFP.
Low said investors were also cheered by news that Warren Buffett’s
Berkshire Hathaway had invested in Amazon, which jumped 3.2 percent.
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“It’s him (Buffett) signing off the on the US stock market rally,” Low
said. “It’s not like him to make a high-profile buy at a market top.”
The billionaire all-star investor disclosed the move in an interview with
CNBC. Buffett previously has lamented not getting into Amazon at earlier
stage, blaming “stupidity” for missing the opportunity in a 2017 interview.
In commodities trading on Friday, oil prices rebounded after falling hard
on Thursday in the wake of a surprisingly large build in US oil inventories.
Some analysts viewed the increase as a reflection of the improved demand
outlook for the US following the strong jobs data.
– Key figures around 2050 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 26,504.95 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 1.0 percent at 2,954.64 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: UP 1.6 percent at 8,164.00 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,380.64 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 0.6 percent at 12,412.75 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 5,548.84 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.4 percent at 3,502.48 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.5 percent at 30,081.55 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: Closed for holiday
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for holiday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1202 from $1.1172 at 2100 GMT
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3167 from $1.3032
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 111.11 yen from 111.51 yen
Oil – Brent Crude: UP 10 cents at $70.85 per barrel
Oil – West Texas Intermediate: UP 13 cents at $61.94 per barrel
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