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Tesla falls on report automaker scrapping low-cost car
plans
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March nonfarm payrolls stronger than expected
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Indexes up: Dow 0.9%, S&P 500 1.1%, Nasdaq 1.3%
(Updates to 1430 ET)
By Chibuike Oguh
NEW YORK, April 5 (Reuters) -
U.S. stocks climbed on Friday after a strong jobs report
reinforced the view that the economy remains healthy even as it
suggested the Federal Reserve could delay cutting interest
rates.
All of the major S&P 500 sectors were advancing, led by
communication services, industrials and
technology.
U.S. Labor Department data showed employers hired far more
workers in March than expected and kept steadily lifting wages,
suggesting the economy ended the first quarter on solid ground.
The data stoked expectations the Fed will likely delay
cutting interest rates given that a recession is nowhere in
sight, said Tom Plumb, president and portfolio manager at Plumb
Funds in Madison, Wisconsin.
"What we are continuing to see is that a robust economy
is not necessarily inflationary, and this labor report, even
though it's just for one month, reinforces that there's less
likelihood of a recession, which is more important than the
expectations of the timing of interest rate reductions," Plumb
said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 337.63
points, or 0.87%, to 38,934.61, the S&P 500 gained 56.86
points, or 1.10%, to 5,204.07 and the Nasdaq Composite
added 202.05 points, or 1.26%, to 16,251.13.
The S&P 500 was on track for a weekly decline, pressured
this week by mixed economic data such as the soft services
activity report, the stronger manufacturing report and comments
from policymakers.
Money markets are now pricing in around two rate cuts this
year, down from three a few weeks ago, according to LSEG.
Tesla bucked the day's broader market trend, with
its shares down 3.9% following a Reuters report that the
electric carmaker had canceled its inexpensive car that was
expected to drive its growth into a mass-market automaker.
Among the day's gainers, Krispy Kreme, which rose
6% after Piper Sandler analysts upgraded the doughnut chain to
"overweight" from "neutral". Shockwave Medical ( SWAV ) gained
2% after Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) agreed to buy the medical
device maker for $12.5 billion.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.49-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.18-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 20 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 60 new highs and 118 new lows.