(New York) The New York Stock Exchange ended sharply higher on Friday, boosted by employment figures preserving the hypothesis of a soft landing for the American economy, as well as a jump in regional banks.
The Dow Jones advanced 1.65%, the NASDAQ index rose 2.25% and the S index
After four consecutive bearish sessions, the market was ready for a rebound and relied on the monthly US jobs report to get going.
Some 253,000 jobs were created in April in the United States, much more than the 180,000 announced by economists. The difference with the forecasts was put into perspective by the sharp downward revision of the two previous months (-149,000 in total).
The three-month average has fallen from 333,000 in January to 222,000 currently. “So clearly the job market is still robust, but it’s cooling,” commented Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.
“Today’s (macro) numbers, with regional banks rebounding, brought relief that the current state of the economy is not one of recession,” observes Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones. “We’re not even at a turning point. »
On the banking front, confidence returned on Friday as it had disappeared, without warning, during another difficult week for regional establishments.
Presented as the last weak link to date, the Californian PacWest thus almost doubled in value during the session (81.70%), which also saw the sign of Phoenix (Arizona) Western Alliance recover (49.23%) , as well as Salt Lake City (Utah) Zions (19.22%).
The momentum benefited the largest American banks, such as Wells Fargo (3.32%) or Citigroup (3.16%).
The operators nevertheless noted, in the employment report, that the average salary had increased faster than expected (0.5% against 0.3%) over one month.
“The report highlights that although the Fed (US central bank) signaled a pause (in its Wednesday statement), further rate hikes cannot be ruled out unless job creation and wage growth moderate. not, with inflation,” warned Oxford Economics in a note.
The prospect of inflation that is slow to return to the nails has played on bond rates, which have risen. The yield on 10-year US government bonds was 3.42%, compared to 3.37% the day before closing.
Wall Street was also well oriented by the results of Apple (4.69%), Thursday after the stock market, which brought the giant to the apple and a good part of the technology sector with it.
The Cupertino (California) firm recorded a second consecutive drop in turnover, but exceeded market expectations, mainly thanks to its star product, the iPhone, which now weighs 54% of group sales. Apple also announced a new share buyback program of up to $90 billion.
Chauffeur-driven vehicle booking platform Lyft slowed (-19.27%) after reporting forecasts below analysts’ projections, despite a better-than-expected first quarter.
Entertainment group Warner Bros Discovery fell (-4.54%) after reporting lower than expected revenue and a surprise loss. The Burbank (California) company suffered from a slowdown in content sales and advertising. Note, however, that online distribution has reached profitability.
The Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange platform soared (18.33%), thanks to quarterly results above expectations, in a context deemed unfavorable to digital currencies.
The e-commerce site Shopify also shone (8.25%), after the announcement of better than expected quarterly activity figures, but also the layoff of 20% of the workforce, less than a year after a first plan social which had eliminated 10% of the posts.
