US close: Stocks higher following April NFP figures
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Saturday 03 May 2025
(Sharecast News) - Major indices closed higher on Friday as traders digested April's all-important non-farm payrolls report.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.39% at 41,317.43, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.47% to 5,686.67 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.51% firmer at 17,977.73.
The Dow closed 564.47 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 will undoubtedly 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 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
Nike Inc. (NKE) $58.60 3.22%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $323.68 3.10%
American Express Co. (AXP) $276.85 3.09%
3M Co. (MMM) $141.99 3.03%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $245.55 2.46%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.62 2.36%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $267.28 2.28%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $252.51 2.28%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $566.10 2.22%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $59.33 2.17%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $205.35 -2.76%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $281.22 -1.43%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $311.77 -0.54%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $30.42 -0.36%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $399.92 -0.19%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $83.18 -0.10%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.98 -0.09%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $160.48 0.34%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $71.68 0.50%
S&P 500 - Risers
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $3.77 7.39%
Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN) $20.06 7.04%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $17.37 6.83%
Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $63.80 6.53%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $44.20 6.51%
Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $46.99 5.83%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $74.07 5.60%
VF Corp. (VFC) $12.77 5.18%
Travel + Leisure Co (TNL) $47.25 5.14%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $19.57 5.05%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI) $407.48 -7.46%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $219.50 -6.78%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $54.16 -6.01%
CVS Health Corp (CVS) $67.46 -2.87%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $205.35 -2.76%
Hershey Foods Corp. (HSY) $163.35 -2.26%
Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) $110.03 -2.25%
Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG) $9.54 -1.95%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $68.60 -1.94%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $179.82 -1.92%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.16 13.79%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $34.47 4.77%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $84.69 4.62%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $10.52 4.00%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $123.52 3.98%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $605.61 3.93%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $47.90 3.92%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $74.52 3.80%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $690.33 3.51%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $84.29 3.41%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $9.93 -11.81%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $9.63 -11.12%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $219.50 -6.78%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $54.16 -6.01%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $205.35 -2.76%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $20.47 -2.71%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $68.60 -1.94%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $179.82 -1.92%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $384.86 -1.48%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $281.22 -1.43%
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