NEW YORK — Stocks posted solid gains on Wall Street as a strong report on employment showed the U.S. economy continues to chug along. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 307 points and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.2%. U.S. employers added a surprisingly strong number of jobs in March, while modest gains in wages eased some fears of a renewed spike in inflation. Wall Street is still betting the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in June.
U.S. employers added a surprisingly strong 303,000 workers to their payrolls in March, according to a government report on Friday. The strong job market has helped fuel consumer spending and earnings growth for businesses, amounting to strong economic growth overall. Treasury yields climbed following the jobs report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.37% from 4.31% just before the report was released. The two-year yield, which moves more on expectations for the Fed, rose to 4.73% from 4.65% just prior to the report.
The Fed's benchmark interest rate remains at its highest level in two decades as a result of historic rate hikes meant to tame inflation. The strategy has seemingly worked so far, with overall consumer prices falling drastically from a peak in 2022. Inflation fell to a rate of 3.2% in February. It was as a high as 9.1% in the middle of 2022.
Wall Street has a slightly better than even bet that the Fed will trim rates at its June meeting, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. That's down from 65.9% on Thursday and 72% a month ago.
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