Stock market today: US stocks rise after hot jobs report highlights economic strength

• US stocks rose on Friday following the release of a strong March employment report.
• The US economy added 303,000 jobs last month, well ahead of economist estimates.
• Investors are watching to see if the strong jobs report will delay interest rate cuts from the Fed.

US stocks climbed on Friday as investors reacted to a strong March employment report and considered whether a resilient economy will postpone interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

The US economy added 303,000 jobs in March, well ahead of economist estimates of 212,000. The report helped pushed the unemployment rate down to 3.8% from 3.9%. 

Much of the hiring last month was concentrated in the leisure and hospitality, government, and health care sectors.

“The blockbuster 303,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in March supports the Fed’s position that the resilience of the economy means it can take its time with rate cuts,” economist Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics said.

That echoes comments from Fed President Neel Kashkari, who said yesterday that there may be no reason to cut interest rates at all this year.

“If we have a run rate that’s very attractive, people have jobs, businesses are doing well, inflation is coming back down, why do anything?” Kashkari said. 

Here’s where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Friday: 

• S&P 500: 5,167.33, up 0.4%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 38,699.13, up 0.3% (102 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 16,109.77, up 0.4%

Here’s what else is going on today: 

• A string of layoffs in Apple’s R&D division suggests that CEO Tim Cook is trying to re-focus the company after its failed EV project.
• A peak in bitcoin would signal turbulent times ahead for the stock market over the next six months, according to a Wall Street strategist.
• The US government transferred 2,000 bitcoin to Coinbase from its $2 billion cryptocurrency wallet earlier this week.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto: 

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil edged higher by 0.52% to $87.04 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped by 0.66% to $91.25 a barrel. 
• Gold jumped 0.40% to $2,315.90 per ounce. 
• The 10-year Treasury yield rose 6 basis points to 4.38%. 
• Bitcoin dropped by 2.25% to $66,979.