S&P 500 Gains As US Jobs Holding Up Amid Trade War: Markets Wrap

Wall Street traders drove stocks higher as data showed the US labor market is holding up despite concerns about risks stemming from President Donald Trump’s tariff war. Bonds fell. The dollar rose.

After wavering in the first 30 minutes of New York trading, the S&P 500 climbed amid an unexpected increase in US job openings as hiring picked up. Tech shares led the bounce, with Nvidia Corp. gaining about 3%. Earlier losses were driven by a cut in OECD’s growth forecasts, with the institution saying combative trade policies have tipped the world economy into a downturn.

The rise in job openings and low unemployment support the Federal Reserve’s assertion that the labor market is in a good place. While some economists fear a more notable weakening in coming months under the weight of tariffs, that hasn’t shown up in the data yet, supporting officials’ posture to keep rates steady.

“The higher-than-expected job openings number this morning is a good sign for the economy, as many were worried that the tariff uncertainty was weighing too heavily on businesses,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management. “To the extent that they felt confident to hire and expand, shows that businesses are looking past the tariff issues for now.”

Policymakers and forecasters will be attune to any softening in the May jobs report due Friday. Economists see payrolls rising by 130,000 after job growth in March and April exceeded projections. That would leave the average over the past three months tracking a still-solid 162,000. The unemployment rate is seen holding at 4.2%.

• Dollar General Corp. surged after increasing its annual guidance, helped by luring more higher-income shoppers looking for deals. The discount chain also said it expects to mitigate a significant amount of the tariffs currently in place.

• Broadcom Inc. began shipping a new version of its data center switch chips that can boost the efficiency of AI accelerators, aiming to take a bigger role in the booming market for artificial-intelligence computing.

• Marriott International Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tony Capuano said consumers are still signing up for travel, but just waiting longer to book hotel rooms.

• Victoria’s Secret & Co. said a security incident that caused it to shut down its e-commerce site may hurt results for the current quarter.

• Signet Jewelers Ltd. raised its profit outlook for the full year and lifted the low end of its sales guidance, signaling confidence in the new chief executive’s overhaul strategy and consumers’ willingness to spend despite economic turbulence.

• Constellation Energy Corp. agreed to sell power from an Illinois nuclear plant to Meta Platforms Inc. as artificial intelligence sends power demand soaring.

• Hims & Hers Health Inc. said it’s buying privately held telehealth company Zava as it looks to expand its footprint in Europe.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 rose 0.5% as of 12:03 p.m. New York time

• The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7%

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%

• The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed

• The MSCI World Index rose 0.2%

• Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 0.7%

• The Russell 2000 Index rose 1.5%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%

• The euro fell 0.6% to $1.1374

• The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3522

• The Japanese yen fell 0.9% to 143.95 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 1.5% to $106,523.79

• Ether rose 3.2% to $2,621.17

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.46%

• Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.53%

• Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.64%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.8% to $63.65 a barrel

• Spot gold fell 1% to $3,349.08 an ounce