Get ready for a positive start to your day on Wall Street! Investors are feeling good as they anticipate the stock market to open higher on Friday. Because? Well, it turns out that the latest jobs report didn’t quite live up to expectations. This has made people think that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates soon. Plus, some interesting updates from big companies like Apple and Amgen are giving investors even more reasons to smile.
The latest report from the Department of Labor says that the United States added 175,000 jobs in April. That’s less than experts predicted. The unemployment rate stayed about the same at 3.9%, which is a little higher than people expected. And when it comes to wages, they only rose 0.2% last month, not as much as the expected 0.3% growth.
Jason Pride, a senior figure at Glenmede, said: “The data suggests the economy is not doing as well as we thought, which is important. But hey, a 3.9% unemployment rate isn’t that bad. It means there are still plenty of jobs available.”
Experts now think the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates by about 51 basis points this year. Before the report was released, they only expected a cut of about 41 basis points.
This news comes after the Federal Reserve hinted that it could lower interest rates at its last meeting, which excited Wall Street on Thursday.
Now, let’s talk about Apple. They are making waves after announcing that they are going to buy back a whopping $110 billion worth of their own stock. Additionally, its earnings last quarter exceeded expectations. That makes investors feel pretty good, which is why Apple shares are up 7.2% before the market even opens.
And Amgen, a large biotech company, is also seeing an increase in its stock price. They’re excited because their weight-loss drug trial is going well and their first-quarter earnings were strong.
But not everyone is having a great day. Companies like Eli Lilly and Viking Therapeutics are seeing their stock prices fall a bit.
At 08:42 a.m. ET, the Dow E-minis were up 497 points, the S&P 500 E-minis were up 58.25 points, and the Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 284 points.
There is also interesting news from companies like Block, Expedia and Fortinet. Block’s stock rose because it expects to make more money this year, while Expedia’s stock fell because it expects to make less. And Fortinet shares are also down, after they said they weren’t making as much money as people expected.
Also read: Wall Street Rebounds as Fed Holds Rates, Eyes Jobs Report