Stocks in the US surged on Friday, driven by a weaker-than-anticipated April jobs report, the unemployment rate edged up to 3.90%, while wage growth fell short of forecasts. This shift in expectations pushed projections for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut to September from November. The S&P 500 rose by 1.20%, the Nasdaq climbed by 2%, and the Dow Jones closed 450 points higher. In April, the US economy added 175 thousand jobs, below the estimated 243 thousand, indicating a notable slowdown from March's addition of 315 thousand jobs.
On Friday, the FTSE/JSE All Share Index (ALSI) increased by approximately 0.50% to rebound from two consecutive days of declines, in line with the performance of US markets. Traders responded positively to recent data showing a notable deceleration in US job expansion last month, as well as a minor easing in wage growth. Concerning the domestic economy, Moody's Investors Service cautioned that South Africa could face difficulties in addressing the country's persistent issues if a coalition government forms after this month's elections.
European equity markets ended higher on Friday with the UK’s FTSE 100 rising by 0.80% driven by upbeat corporate news. While Germany’s Frankfurt's DAX 40 followed suit up by 0.50% to end at 17 995 points as investors revised their predictions for Fed’s rate cuts following the US jobs report, which showed a deceleration in job growth and wage increases.
Chinese markets were not in trade on Friday, still celebrating the five-day long Labour Day while the Japanese people were observing the Constitutional Memorial Day.
In commodities, Brent crude futures fell to $83.42 per barrel, set for their biggest weekly decline in three months. This drop was driven by investor reactions to disappointing U. jobs data and a slowdown in annual wage growth. Gold prices were also down, trading around $2 294 an ounce.
