On Friday, the latest U.S. non-farm payrolls data for April fell far short of expectations, reviving market expectations for a Fed rate cut this year, boosting U.S. equities. U.S. stocks closed higher this Friday, with the three major U.S. stock indexes rising more than 1%, of which the Nasdaq rose the most, at 1.99%, and the three major U.S. stock indexes rose collectively this week, including the Dow rose 1.14%, the Nasdaq rose 1.43%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.55%, rising for the second consecutive week. On Friday, popular Chinese concept stocks continued to rise overall, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index, which rose 6% on Thursday, closing up 1.7%, rising for three consecutive days, refreshing the closing high since October 2023 and up 5.5% this week.
International gold prices fell on the 3rd
International gold prices fell to a near one-month low on Friday as geopolitical risks in the Middle East showed signs of easing and some investors took profits. The most actively traded June gold futures on the New York Stock Exchange was at $2308.60 an ounce, down 0.04%, down 1.64% for the week.
The U.S. non-farm payrolls data for April fell short of expectations Fed rate cut expectations are rising
The latest data released by the U.S. Labor Department on Friday showed that the seasonally adjusted nonfarm payrolls in the United States increased by 175,000 in April, the lowest increase in six months. The unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 3.9% and wage growth slowed. This suggests that the labor market is cooling after experiencing strong growth at the beginning of the year.
According to the analysis, the overall weakness of the non-farm payrolls data is generally good for the capital market, and the slowdown in wage growth is a sign of cooling inflation. After the release of the data, the market reverted to expectations that the Fed would cut rates by 25 basis points twice this year, compared to one before the release of the data. At the same time, the market has brought forward the timing of the Fed's first rate cut from November to September.
Positive data from the interim trial of a new weight loss drug U.S. pharmaceutical company Amgen shares closed up 11.84% on the 3rd Amgen, a U.S. pharmaceutical company, announced after hours on Thursday that it has made positive progress in interim trial data for a new weight loss drug, and if the drug is approved, it will become a potential competitor to U.S. pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk in weight loss drug products. Driven by the news, Amgen shares closed 11.84% higher on Friday, Eli Lilly & Company closed down 2.77%, and Novo Nordisk closed down 0.78%.
The three major European stock indexes collectively closed up on the 3rd On Friday, all three major European stock indexes rose on Friday as investors digested the earnings reports of a number of large European companies and assessed the Fed's expectations for interest rate cuts. The UK stock market rose by 0.51%, the French stock market by 0.54%, and the German stock market by 0.59%. On the data front, the Eurozone unemployment rate was 6.5% in March, in line with expectations.
International oil prices closed down on the 3rd Oil has fallen by more than 7% this week On the commodity front, investors are widely concerned that the Federal Reserve's prolonged high interest rates will dampen economic growth in the world's major oil consumers and beyond. International oil prices edged lower on Friday.
Light crude oil futures for June delivery fell 1.06% on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and London Brent crude futures for July delivery fell 0.85%. This week, international oil prices recorded the largest weekly decline in three months. The price of the main contract of light crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by 6.85%, and the price of the main contract of Brent crude oil futures on the London Exchange fell by 7.3%.
(CCTV Finance)