market:
- WTI crude oil fell 7 cents to $94.76
- US 10-year yield fell 3.2 bps to 4.36%
- Gold increased by $ 30 to $ 4716
- S&P 500 up 0.8%
- GBP is ahead, USD is behind
Tech optimism is at its peak as the Nasdaq has climbed for the sixth consecutive week, up 30% in that time and 5% this week. Chip names continued to rise, with Micron rising 15% and Intel rising 14%. The enthusiasm for AI is outweighing any concerns about oil prices or rate hikes.
Oil prices ended the day flat after rising earlier. A late WSJ report indicated progress on a 14-point one-page plan to set parameters for a month of talks on nuclear, sanctions and other problems. The day started with US attacks on parts of Iran but Trump dismissed them as minor and that was enough for the rest of the market to forget about it.
In terms of a rate hike, the second consecutive strong jobs report highlights how Kevin Warsh will have a hard time making the case for a rate cut this year. American consumer spending has also increased due to the ongoing boom in stock markets. The only soft parts of the report were slightly softer than expected wage growth and another tick lower in labor force participation, which is down more than 1 percentage point since 2024.
The US dollar softened across the board but that was more about war optimism than the jobs report.
The Canadian dollar strengthened on the US dollar, but struggled elsewhere as jobs were bad in April and included a further rise in the unemployment rate.
Have a great weekend.
