Wall Street climbs on upbeat Apple results
Broader market was set to extend a recovery from the pandemic shock. PHOTO: REUTERS
Wall Street’s main indexes gained on Friday as Apple’s upbeat results underscored resilience in corporate earnings, while a stronger-than-expected jobs report eased fears of an imminent economic downturn.
Apple Inc gained 4.4% on better-than-expected results, helped by strong iPhone sales and notable inroads in India and other newer markets, fuelling a near 2% advance in technology stocks.
Investors appeared to take in stride data showing US employers boosted hiring in April while raising wages, pointing to sustained labour market strength that could prompt the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for some time.
The Labour Department’s report showed non-farm payrolls increased by 253,000 last month, higher than economists’ expectations of 180,000.
Wages increased 4.4% year-on-year in April after climbing 4.3% in March, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.4%.
“This is a strong report and shows that the labour market is resilient. It bails out the Fed for raising another quarter point,” said Peter Cardillo, Chief Market Economist at Spartan Capital Securities.
“It’s been a tough week for the stock market, the regional banking problems have raised the fear factor, but Apple earnings came in strong. Stocks are coming up from near-term oversold condition.”
Traders are betting the Fed will start easing the policy rate by September, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, compared with July before the release of the jobs data.
The Fed raised its interest rate by 25 basis points as expected on Wednesday, but Chair Jerome Powell noted it was too early to say with certainty that the rate-hike cycle was over as inflation remains the chief concern.
Wall Street fell on Thursday after PacWest Bancorp’s move to explore strategic options deepened concerns about the health of regional banks, pulling down shares of peers and big banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo & Co.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2023.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.