US open: Stocks higher following April payrolls report
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Friday 02 May 2025
(Sharecast News) - Major indices were in the green early on Friday as traders digested April's all-important non-farm payrolls report.
As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.98% at 41,151.83, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.12% to 5,666.86 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 1.16% firmer at 17,916.15.
The Dow opened 398.87 points higher on Friday, extending gains recorded in the previous session as investors cheered some solid quarterly earnings from big tech names like Meta Platforms and Microsoft.
Friday's primary focus was set to be last month's non-farm payrolls report, which revealed hiring in the US slowed in April, albeit by slightly less than expected. According to the Department of Labor, non-farm payrolls rose by 177,000, following a gain of 185,000 during the previous month. Economists had forecast an increase of 138,000. Worth noting, the previous month's gain was revised down from a preliminary print of 228,000 to 185,000. Elsewhere, the rate of unemployment, derived from a separate survey, held steady at 4.2% in April.
Trade headlines were also drawing an amount of investor attention at the open after China said it was considering US calls to begin trade talks, potentially opening the door for a ceasefire between Washington and Beijing in a trade war that has rocked financial markets.
China said that senior US officials had reached out "through relevant parties multiple times", hoping to start negotiations on tariffs, according to a spokesperson for the commerce ministry. However, while considering the possibility of launching negotiations, Chinese authorities also reiterated that the US would have to remove all unilateral tariffs and that failure to do so would amount to "an outright lack of sincerity" from the Trump administration and "further compromise mutual trust". "If the US wants to talk, it should show its sincerity and be prepared to correct its wrong practices and cancel the unilateral tariffs," it said.
Elsewhere on the macro front, factory orders increased by 4.3% in March, according to the Census Bureau, up from February's downwardly revised 0.5% growth and only slightly below market expectations of a 4.5% increase to mark the sharpest increase since July 2024.
In the corporate space, Apple was in the red after reporting Q2 services revenues that fell short of Wall Street expectations and revelaed that it expects to add $900.0m in costs in the current quarter as a result of the "Liberation Day" tariffs to tariffs, while Amazon shares were also lower after issuing soft guidance as a result of "tariffs and trade policies".
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
American Express Co. (AXP) $273.86 1.98%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $319.93 1.90%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $57.79 1.81%
Visa Inc. (V) $348.60 1.79%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $99.12 1.76%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $273.74 1.64%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $363.89 1.56%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $92.14 1.46%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $58.89 1.40%
Boeing Co. (BA) $185.38 1.36%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $203.26 -3.75%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $279.72 -1.95%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $396.88 -0.95%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.94 -0.50%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $30.38 -0.49%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $71.18 -0.15%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $136.05 -0.15%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $314.29 0.21%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $160.47 0.31%
S&P 500 - Risers
Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $63.05 5.28%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $153.72 5.16%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $43.42 4.63%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $152.02 4.49%
Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $46.26 4.19%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $16.94 4.18%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $606.48 4.08%
Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $95.41 3.88%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $533.68 3.87%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $74.47 3.73%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI) $401.76 -8.52%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $52.98 -8.06%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $219.54 -6.76%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $203.26 -3.75%
Mohawk Inds Inc. (MHK) $102.69 -3.53%
Eaton Corporation plc (ETN) $291.88 -3.24%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $68.50 -2.09%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $279.72 -1.95%
Eog Resources Inc. (EOG) $109.51 -1.94%
Stryker Corp. (SYK) $367.61 -1.70%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.15 11.34%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $153.16 4.78%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $604.00 3.65%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $74.40 3.64%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $84.38 3.52%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $531.66 3.48%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $33.94 3.16%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $686.83 2.98%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $47.37 2.75%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $213.49 2.62%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $10.21 -9.33%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $9.86 -8.95%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $53.15 -7.77%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $219.40 -6.82%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $20.03 -4.80%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $203.73 -3.52%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $68.31 -2.36%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $278.88 -2.25%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $384.04 -1.69%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $180.96 -1.30%
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