Bonds & Stocks
Wall Street took a slowdown in the US jobs market as an indication that the Federal Reserve will be able to start cutting rates as early as September, with traders sending stocks up sharply as bond yields tumbled. Equities wiped out this week’s losses, with the market also buoyed by Apple Inc.’s post-earnings surge. Treasury two-year yields, which are more sensitive to imminent Fed moves, tumbled 10 basis points to 4.77%. Earlier this week, they had topped 5%, hitting a fresh 2024 high.
Economy
US employers scaled back hiring in April and the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose, suggesting some cooling is underway in the labor market after a strong start to the year. Nonfarm payrolls advanced 175,000 last month, the smallest gain in six months, a Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed Friday. The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9% and wage gains slowed.
World
Japan likely conducted its second currency intervention this week, current account figures from the central bank suggest, in another sign of the government’s intensified battle to prop up the yen. Tokyo’s latest entry into the market was likely around ¥3.5 trillion ($22.5 billion), based on a comparison of Bank of Japan accounts and money broker forecasts.