Dow Jones Rallies 500 Points After Strong US Jobs Report

U.S. stock benchmark averages are now positive this year.

Wall Street in New York City on April 4, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

U.S. stocks rallied on June 6 to close out the trading week after a better-than-expected May jobs report.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average surged by more than 500 points, or 1.2 percent. The Dow is now up by nearly 1 percent this year.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index advanced by about 250 points, or 1.4 percent, and is up by more than 1 percent this year.

The broader S&P 500 climbed by nearly 70 points, or 1.15 percent, and topped 6,000. The index has risen by 2 percent this year.

Following the brutal April selloff, the leading benchmark averages are now in positive territory in 2025.

Investors cheered the latest employment data, signaling a robust labor market amid a volatile economic climate.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy created 139,000 new jobs, and the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 percent for the third consecutive month.

Economists had anticipated the country would add 130,000 positions last month.

“The all-important May jobs report came in reasonably decent,” Natalia Lojevsky, a managing director at CIFC Asset Management, said in a note emailed to The Epoch Times.

Revisions, which totaled 95,000 in March and April, signaled a slowing trend in the U.S. labor market, Lojevsky noted.

“However, the May report also showed that it is not happening quickly,” she said. “This is a relief to investors after a week full of mixed data.”

A rebound in Tesla Motors’ shares also supported Friday’s market move.

After tanking 14 percent on June 5, the electric vehicle maker’s stock advanced by about 3 percent. CEO Elon Musk sparred with President Donald Trump on social media, sparking concerns that Tesla’s business would be negatively impacted by the strained relations between the two men.

The U.S. Treasury market was also swimming in a sea of green ink, with the benchmark 10-year yield climbing to 4.48 percent. The 2-year yield topped 4 percent, and the 30-year reached 4.94 percent.

The greenback attempted to pare its weekly losses. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), a gauge of the buck against a weighted basket of currencies like the Japanese yen and British pound, rose by about 0.5 percent.

Next Stop: Federal Reserve

Despite the solid May jobs numbers, the president urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 1 percent.

“‘Too Late’ at the Fed is a disaster!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Friday. “Europe has had 10 rate cuts, we have had none. Despite him, our Country is doing great. Go for a full point, Rocket Fuel!”

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell after testifying before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 11, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

In a follow-up post, Trump added that the U.S. central bank would reduce long- and short-term interest rates “on debt that is coming due.”

“There is virtually no inflation (anymore), but if it should come back, RAISE ‘RATE’ TO COUNTER,” Trump said. “ Very Simple!!! He is costing our Country a fortune. Borrowing costs should be MUCH LOWER!!!”

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the futures market is not penciling in a rate cut until September.

Jamie Cox, the managing partner for Harris Financial Group, believes the May jobs report will prompt the Fed to revert to “cutting mode in July.”

“The labor market is strong, but cooling,” Cox said in a note emailed to The Epoch Times. “Wages are stable, for now, but that is likely to change in the coming months.”

Because the president’s tariffs have yet to impact inflation numbers and the labor market has not deteriorated, the best decision for the Fed is to wait before cutting interest rates, says Chris Zaccarelli, the chief investment officer of Northlight Asset Management.

“As the Fed watches its dual mandate even more closely—keeping one eye on the job market, looking for any deterioration, and one eye on inflation, noting that it has come down, but progress appears stalled—it has to conclude that the right thing to do is sit on their hands,” Zaccarelli said in a note emailed to The Epoch Times.

Monetary policymakers have left the benchmark federal funds rate unchanged this year between 4.25 percent and 4.5 percent. Fed officials have stated that they can afford to be patient because economic activity remains solid and the labor market is still intact.

The rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee will hold its next two-day policy meeting on June 17 and June 18.

Incoming Data

Next week, inflation numbers for May will be released.

The headline annual inflation rate in the Consumer Price Index is expected to tick up to 2.4 percent in May from 2.3 percent in the previous month, according to the Cleveland Fed Inflation Nowcasting model.

May’s producer price index, which measures the prices paid for goods and services by businesses and points to pipeline inflation, is projected to rise by 0.2 percent.

However, Truflation, a popular inflation measure that tracks a treasure trove of metrics, suggests the U.S. Inflation Index is still below 1.9 percent.