On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major stock indexes saw strong gains following the release of a better-than-expected jobs report for March. However, small caps struggled as rising interest rates impacted the market, with the 10-year Treasury yield reaching an intraday high.
The economy added 303,000 jobs in March, surpassing estimates and pushing the unemployment rate down to 3.8%. Despite this positive news, traders are still predicting a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve in June. There is also concern that rates may remain high if inflation takes longer to reach the Fed’s target of 2%.
One notable event in the market was the announcement of Johnson & Johnson’s plans to acquire Shockwave Medical for $13.1 billion. Shockwave’s technology aimed at breaking apart calcified plaque in arteries caught the attention of investors, causing its stock to soar.
In trading, the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 led the way, with the Dow Jones and Russell 2000 small-cap index also posting gains. However, despite the overall positive performance, there were signs of institutional selling, which could indicate possible market pullbacks.
Among the top-performing stocks were Amazon, Caterpillar, Salesforce, and Microsoft. Meanwhile, in the Nasdaq 100, Netflix, Amazon, and Advanced Micro Devices showed mixed results.
Overall, the market shows a mix of positive indicators, such as strong job growth and corporate buyouts, but also potential concerns like rising interest rates and signs of institutional selling. Monitoring these factors can provide valuable insights for investors navigating the current market environment.
