Ho-hum May jobs report sends stocks higher
US nonfarm payrolls rose by 139,000 in May, solidly above estimates for 126,000, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2% as anticipated.
SPDR S&P 500 ETF and Invesco QQQ Trust extended premarket gains to session highs in the wake of the data, with iShares Russell 2000 ETF pushing more than 1% to the upside.
Heading into this report, there had been some nascent signs of concern about the US labor market — in particular the climb in continuing jobless claims. The headline figures from this jobs report should allay any worries, even as the details of the data were unspectacular to soft. Notably, revisions were brutal, showing that 95,000 fewer jobs were added in March and April than previously thought.
In any event, the pricing of Federal Reserve easing through year-end has dipped from above 50 basis points to below that threshold following this release, suggesting the theme of economic resilience is carrying the day across stock and bond markets.
