Stocks Hit Record High on Jobs as Chipmakers Surge: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Signs of labor-market strength drove stocks to all-time highs, bolstering speculation that the world’s largest economy remains resilient in the face of an energy shock triggered by the Iran war.
Bets that solid growth will keep powering earnings sent the S&P 500 to its sixth straight weekly advance. A revival of the artificial-intelligence trade fueled an 11% jump in a gauge of chipmakers since last Friday. Oil notched a slide for the week. The US and Iran are working with mediators to formulate a memorandum of understanding that would set the parameters for a month of talks to end the war, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The US said it expects Iran to respond to its latest proposal to end their war imminently, as clashes in the Strait of Hormuz threatened to further fracture a monthlong ceasefire. Tehran’s response is “under review,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei told the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
While geopolitical developments remained the key driver for markets, investors kept a close eye on the latest economic data to assess the impacts of the war. US employers added to payrolls for a second month in April, marking the first back-to-back advance in nearly a year. The jobless rate held steady.
“The economy is so much better than what the doom crew has been saying,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management. “There are a lot of headwinds – higher oil prices, sticky inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates – and yet the labor market is adding jobs.”
The solid payrolls report overshadowed data showing consumer sentiment fell in recent weeks to a fresh record low on concerns about the impact of inflation on personal finances and buying conditions.
For those who are scratching their heads about the market resilience amid all the uncertainties, Zaccarelli says the short answer is: Stock prices follow earnings and – at least for now – they’re growing too quickly for investors to ignore. About 82% of the S&P 500’s companies have beaten first-quarter profit estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“Bears continue to point to the narrowness of the rally, particularly in areas like semiconductors, but momentum — both in price action and earnings revisions — has remained the dominant force driving markets higher,” said Mark Hackett at Nationwide.
Even with signs of life in the labor market, the Federal Reserve is likely to remain on hold for now to allow the oil price spike to play itself out, according to Chris Kampitsis at Barnum Financial Group. Money market pricing continued to suggest the Fed will keep rates steady this year.
“Strong data and inflation have likely put paid to any easing in the foreseeable future, though this could change depending on how energy prices and the situation in the Middle East develop,” said Lindsay Rosner at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Corporate Highlights:
Intel Corp. rallied after the Wall Street Journal reported the company reached a preliminary deal with Apple Inc. to build some of the chips in its devices. Nvidia Corp. is investing as much as $2.1 billion in IREN Ltd. as part of a broader partnership aimed at accelerating the construction of AI infrastructure. Anthropic PBC has signed a $1.8 billion computing deal with cloud services provider Akamai Technologies Inc. to meet surging demand for its AI software, according to people familiar with the matter. Cerebras Systems Inc. is set to increase the price range of its initial public offering as soon as Monday, according to people familiar with the matter, as demand for the AI chipmaker’s shares continues to build. CoreWeave Inc.’s disappointing forecast sparked concerns about slowing growth at a time when the company is spending heavily to bolster operations. What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“The latest US jobs numbers confirm that the big story is economic resilience in the face of rising energy prices.”
—Edward Harrison, Macro Strategist, Markets Live. For the full analysis, click here.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.3% The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed The MSCI World Index rose 0.4% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2% The euro rose 0.5% to $1.1781 The British pound rose 0.6% to $1.3632 The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 156.74 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.4% to $80,153.88 Ether rose 1.1% to $2,313.5 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.36% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.01% Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 4.91% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.1% to $94.71 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.8% to $4,723.10 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
