Stocks moved sharply higher at the start of trading on Friday, as traders reacted positively to a report showing stronger than expected U.S. job growth. The major averages all showed strong moves to the upside after ending the previous session mixed.
The major averages have not seen much follow-through on their initial upward move but remain firmly positive. The Dow is up 111.68 points or 0.9 percent at 12,817.09, the Nasdaq is up 28.01 points or 1 percent at 2,887.69 and the S&P 500 is up 12.34 points or 0.9 percent at 1,337.88.
The initial strength on Wall Street comes following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing that the U.S. economy added far more jobs than anticipated in the month of January. The job growth also contributed to an unexpected drop by the unemployment rate.
The report showed that the non-farm payroll employment jumped by 243,000 jobs in January following a revised increase of 203,000 jobs in December. Economists had expected employment to increase by about 140,000 jobs.
With the stronger than expected job growth, the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent in the previous month.
The data has added to recent signs that the U.S. economy continues to recover, although lingering concerns about the financial situation in Europe and its impact on the global economy have helped to limit the upside for the markets.
Housing stocks are turning in some of the market's best performances in early trading, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 2.4 percent. With the gain, the index is on pace to end the session at its best closing level in well over a year.
Significant strength is also visible among banking stocks, which are benefiting from optimism about the outlook for the economy. Most of the other major sectors have also moved to the upside, with networking, biotechnology, and airline stocks posting notable gains.
On the other hand, gold stocks are bucking the uptrend by the broader markets amid a pullback by the price of the precious metal.
In overseas trading, stocks markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Friday. While Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.5 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up by 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are all seeing considerable strength on the day. The French CAC 40 Index has advanced by 0.8 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 1.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have shown a notable move to the downside on the heels of the upbeat jobs data. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 9 basis points at 1.915 percent.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.