Dow futures turned negative and the 10-year Treasury yield briefly sank below 1.5% after the government’s April employment report came in way below estimates.
A similar gain in the S&P 500 carried that index to within 10 points of last month’s record close.
Shares of Pfizer were flat while BioNTech popped 5% in Friday’s premarket, after the two companies said they have started the process to file for full approval of their Covid vaccine in the U.S.
Hiring was a huge letdown in April, with nonfarm payrolls increasing much less than expected and the nation’s unemployment rate rising to 6.1% as reopening businesses grapple with an escalating shortage of available workers.
Investors are closely watching these jobs numbers because of the Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep its extraordinarily easy monetary policy, including near zero interest rates, in place until the job market heals and inflation starts picking up.
However, valuations for some assets are elevated relative to historical norms even when using measures that account for Treasury yields,” the report warns.
However, reports of overwhelmed crematoria and cemeteries as well as a growing number of obituaries in newspapers suggest the official figures are undercounting the true death toll.
Shares of Peloton plunged nearly 15% on Wednesday, following the company’s reversal in issuing a voluntary recall after one child died and dozens were injured in accidents involving the Tread+ machine.
Shares jumped nearly 7% in Friday’s premarket, the morning after the fitness equipment company reported a fiscal third-quarter revenue surge of 141% to a better-than-expected $1.26 billion.