US Stock Market Close: Non-farm Payrolls Data Exceeds Expectations, All Three Major Indexes Rise Over 1%, S&P 500 Returns to 6,000 Points

On Friday, Eastern Time, the US May non-farm payrolls data came in better than expected, easing market concerns about an economic slowdown and triggering a sharp rally in US stocks.

All three major indices rose more than 1%, with the S&P 500 closing above 6,000 for the first time since February, though still more than 2% below its all-time high set in February.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.05% to 42,762.87; the S&P 500 rose 1.03% to 6,000.36; and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.20% to 19,529.95.

(Minute-by-minute charts of the three major indices, source: TradingView)

All three major indices posted gains for the week, with the S&P 500 up 1.5%, the Dow up 1.2%, and the Nasdaq up 2.2%. Thanks to the recent rebound, all three major indices have turned positive for the year.

Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday showed that non-farm payrolls increased by 139,000 in May, a slowdown from the previous month's figure but higher than market expectations. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2%.

The jobs report was released as other data suggested that US job growth may be slowing amid uncertainty over trade policy.

The latest non-farm payrolls data provided a basis for the US Fed to maintain interest rates unchanged this summer. As a result, traders lowered their expectations for interest rate cuts in the coming months.

"The non-farm payrolls data came in better than expected, suggesting that the labour market remains healthy despite a slowing growth trend," said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise.

"There is still uncertainty about the inflationary impact of tariffs, which are expected to start showing up in economic data this summer. The market is now waiting to see the real impact of these factors on growth and earnings in the coming quarters. We're essentially back to where we were in February," Saglimbene said.

Circle, the "first stablecoin stock," extended its rally, closing up more than 29% on its second day of trading, with cumulative gains of over 247% in two trading days.

Performance of Popular Stocks

Major tech stocks rose across the board, with Apple up 1.64%, Microsoft up 0.58%, Nvidia up 1.24%, Google up 3.25%, Amazon up 2.72%, Meta up 1.91%, and Tesla up 3.67%.

Among popular Chinese ADRs, gains and losses were mixed. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell 0.06%, with Alibaba down 0.48%, JD.com up 0.09%, Pinduoduo up 1.28%, NIO up 0.28%, XPeng Motors down 2.40%, Li Auto up 0.85%, Bilibili up 1.46%, Baidu down 0.05%, NetEase down 1.25%, and Tencent Music up 1.01%.

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