The Dow jumps 435 points because less job growth means more hope for interest rate cuts

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major stock indexes ended the week on a high note thanks to renewed hope for interest rate cuts later this year. That’s because data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the U.S. added 175,000 jobs in April, falling short of the anticipated 235,000 gain and slowing down from the 315,000 jobs added in March. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9% last month.

That economic cooling could make the Federal Reserve more comfortable with cutting interest rates in the coming months, as inflation has remained elevated above its 2% target. The jobs report comes two days after the Fed suggested it won’t raise interest rates this year.

The Dow jumped 435 points, or 1.1%, to 38,659 shortly before markets closed. The S&P 500 gained about 1.3%, and the Nasdaq rose 2%.

Apple stock spikes more 6% on buyback and earnings

Apple stock jumped more than 6% following the company’s better-than-feared second-quarter earnings report the day before.

Apple beat Wall Street’s expectations Thursday, reporting sales of $90.8 billion for the three months ended March 30. The company also announced its largest-ever stock buyback, authorizing $110 billion in share repurchases and raising its cash dividend by 4%.

Amgen stock surges 11% on potential Ozempic competitor

Amgen stock rose 11%, a day after its CEO Robert Bradway teased encouraging trial results of its experimental weight loss drug MariTide.

“The interim phase 2 analysis for this study is complete, and we are very encouraged with results that we’ve seen thus far and with the conduct of the trial,” Bradway said Thursday on a call with investors. “Following the interim analysis, I would say, we’re confident in MariTide’s differentiated profile and believe it will address important unmet medical needs.”

While results from the study will be released in late 2024, the company is already planning a larger phase 3 trial of drug for multiple uses, including obesity and diabetes.

Paramount won’t extend exclusive deal talks with Skydance

The Paramount merger saga is only heating up, as the entertainment giant continues to entertain multiple offers. Reuters, citing a source familiar, reports that Paramount Global will not extend its exclusive merger discussions with SkyDance Media, the film production company led by David Ellison, when it expires Friday. Skydance has proposed to pay more than $2 billion for National Amusements, Paramount’s parent company, and have Ellison lead the merged entity.

Paramount stock was down 5% late Friday afternoon.

AI and tech stocks get the boost

AI stocks like Nvidia, Super Micro Computer, and Advanced Micro Devices rose 3.7%, 2.5%, and 3%, respectively. Microsoft and Meta gained 2% each.

Bitcoin gets back above $61,000

Crypto exchange Coinbase and Jack Dorsey’s Block reported blockbuster earnings reports on Thursday, sending Bitcoin’s price back above $61,000.

Coinbase reported earnings of $4.40 per share compared to analysts’ estimates of $1.15 per share. The company’s revenue was $1.64 billion, versus the average estimate of $1.36 billion.

Block announced in its latest earnings report that it will use 10% of its gross profit from Bitcoin products to purchase Bitcoin every month. The company reported $5.96 billion in revenue, exceeding analysts’ estimates of $5.75 billion. The company’s earnings per share were $0.85, beating the expectations of $0.62 per share. In the first quarter, the company’s gross profit grew by 22% in a year to $2.09 billion.

Coinbase stock was down 1.8% in the late afternoon, while Block stock dipped a bit.

-Laura Bratton, Bruce Gil, and William Gavin contributed to the article.