The S&P 500 rose on Friday. It had its longest winning streak since 2004. China showed it was open to talking about trade issues.
Investors also benefited from good economic data. The Dow closed 564 points higher, or 1.39%, and the S&P 500 rose 1.47%.
The Nasdaq gained 1.51%, making it the ninth day of gains for the Dow and S&P 500, which has not happened since November 2004.
Friday’s rally helped the S&P 500 erase losses from when President Trump announced tariffs on April 2. The Dow is still down about 2% from April 2. The Labor Department reported that the economy added 177,000 jobs in April.
This was more than the 135,000 jobs expected. Chris Zaccarelli, from Northlight Asset Management, said, “Markets were relieved the jobs data was better than expected.”
Stocks increased as Trump softened his tone on the U.S.-China trade war. White House officials also hinted at possible trade deals with other countries, like India.
Investors are now paying attention to any progress or delays in trade talks.
S&P 500 achieves longest winning streak
Chinese officials seemed open to trade talks proposals from the United States.
This could lead to negotiations. David Russell from TradeStation sai,d “US employment is still strong despite tariff uncertainty. Leaders have room to avoid a recession if they resolve trade issues soon.”
The strong jobs report showed the labor market is doing well.
But investors are still focusing on upcoming trade talks and economic data to gauge the impact of tariffs. David Doyle from Macquarie said, “The path of the labor market is tied to trade policy developments.
The jobs report often means the Federal Reserve might rethink when to cut interest rates. Traders lowered their expectations of a Fed rate cut in June.
Global markets reacted well. Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index gained 1.67%. Germany’s DAX Index rose 2.62%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.04%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 1.74%. This week’s rally was also helped by good earnings from Meta and Microsoft.
This showed Big Tech is doing well and focused on artificial intelligence. Meta shares gained over 4% on Thursday and Friday. Microsoft shares went up 7.6% on Thursday and 2.3% on Friday.
Howard Silverblatt from S&P Dow Jones Indices said, “If the S&P 500 closes higher again on Monday, it will be the first 10-day winning streak since the 1990s.
