Reassuring US job growth provides a small comfort blanket for traders fretting over tariffs

We have no clue how much pain tariffs, retaliatory tariffs, and counter-retaliatory tariffs are going to inflict on the US economy going forward.

But one thing we have learned is that the American labor market wasn’t completely falling apart ahead of the imposition of reciprocal tariffs. US nonfarm payrolls grew by 228,000 in March, massively exceeding economists’ expectations for 140,000. It wasn’t an unambiguously positive report, though, as the unemployment rate inched up to 4.2%.

The SPDR S&P 500 Trust caught a bit of a bid following this release, and is trading in tandem with two-year US Treasury yields. Both are still lower on the session, but well off their lows of the day. The reassuring jobs data isn’t moving too much for markets, probably a signal of how little the past matters in light of the upheaval in global cross-border commerce.

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General Fusion CEO Greg Twinney spoke with Sherwood News from the Nasdaq during the stock’s first day of trading.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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US job growth falls far short of estimates in June; unemployment rate unexpectedly dips to 4.2%

Job growth was 57,000. Analysts foresaw job growth of 113,000; prediction markets were more optimistic, looking for job growth above 125,000 but below 150,000.

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Meta surges on report it’s starting a cloud business to sell excess AI compute

The story of the hyperscalers in 2026 has largely been “the beatings will continue until the cash flow outlook improves;” this could help change the story for Meta. Or not.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg visits U.S. Capitol for Senate meetings

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