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U.S. stocks moved sharply higher Friday following a better than expected April jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 612 points, or 1.5%. The S&P 500 gained 1.6% to extend its recent winning streak, and the Nasdaq added 1.8% following a spate of Big Tech earnings this week.
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social following the jobs report, renewing his frequent calls for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates. “Just like I said, and we’re only in a TRANSITION STAGE, just getting started!!!” he said. “Consumers have been waiting for years to see pricing come down. NO INFLATION, THE FED SHOULD LOWER ITS RATE!!!”
It’s a Jobs Friday with a tariff twist
The already fragile U.S. economy came under further focus Friday morning with the release of the April jobs report, which showed slowed but solid growth. U.S. employers added 177,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2%, according to the report released by the Labor Department.
There’s little in the numbers to suggest that Trump’s tariffs took a substantial toll on the job market as of mid-April. The numbers are better than expected: Economists surveyed by Bloomberg estimated that employers added 130,000 jobs last month and expected the unemployment rate to remain steady, which it did (and which it has since May 2024).
April’s numbers show hiring came back to Earth some after the unexpectedly high 228,000 jobs added in March. April’s jobs numbers are an improvement over the 114,000 average seen in January and February.
Tariff impacts weigh on oil stocks
Shares of Chevron (CVX-2.86%) and Exxon Mobil (XOM-3.05%) were trading lower Friday after releasing earnings reports that showed profits hit by falling oil prices and tariff impacts. Chevron net income declined 30% year over year. Exxon saw profits drop 6% but still managed to beat analyst estimates.
Big Tech’s mixed earnings bag
Apple (AAPL-0.39%) and Amazon (AMZN-2.87%) both beat earnings expectations — but the market reaction split. Apple reported EPS of $1.65 and 5% revenue growth to $95 billion on strong iPhone sales. But shares are down more than 3% premarket, as investors eye a potential $900 million tariff hit in the June quarter.
Amazon posted EPS of $1.59, beating estimates by double digits, with net sales of $155.7 billion and operating margin at a record 11.8%. AWS revenue rose 17% to $29.3 billion, but analysts on the call pressed for details on growth trends and AI monetization.
CEO Andy Jassy pitched AWS as a “multi-hundred-billion-dollar” opportunity, noting 85% of global IT remains off-cloud. AWS now brings in $117 billion annually and serves clients like Adobe (ADBE+0.09%), Uber (UBER+0.83%), and Nasdaq. “We’re investing in AI in a huge way,” he said, citing 1,000+ internal apps and growing demand for infrastructure-scale deployments.
As for tariffs and Amazon’s vast retail operation, Jassy said affordability remains a priority. “We’re working hard to keep prices low, which is even more important now,” he said, adding that Amazon’s latest global deal events saved customers over $500 million. Despite macro headwinds, “we’re not seeing attenuation of demand — more like heightened buying,” he said.
Apple stock was down 3.7%, while Amazon stock rose 1.2%.