Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on April 15, 2025 (Source: Getty Images)

The US Department of Labor’s jobs report released on Friday (May 2) showed that the US economy added 177,000 new jobs in April, down from a revised 185,000 in March but well above the 133,000 new jobs economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected. The unemployment rate remained at 4.2%, in line with expectations.

“Markets breathed a sigh of relief this morning after better-than-expected jobs data,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management. “While recession fears remain, the buying momentum on dips is likely to continue — at least until the tariff pause ends.”

Before the April jobs report was released, investors were also encouraged by expectations that the US and China could soon start trade negotiations.

The stock market has also had a remarkable recovery since Trump announced last month that he would temporarily suspend reciprocal tariffs for 90 days. The market has been especially buoyed recently by positive earnings reports from listed companies, leading to a continuous winning streak for the S&P 500.

Closing the weekend trading session, the S&P 500 increased 1.47% to 5,686.67 points, recording the 9th consecutive day of increase and the longest increasing streak since November 2004. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones industrial index increased 564.47 points, equivalent to 1.39%, to 41,317.43 points; Nasdaq Composite increased 1.51% and closed at 17,977.73 points.

All three major US stock indexes posted their second straight weekly gain. The S&P 500 rose 2.9% for the week, now just 7% below its February high; the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3% and the Nasdaq Composite added 3.4%.

The recent sell-off over concerns about President Donald Trump's tariff plans may be over, according to Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors. "We think we're past the peak of the tariff rage," Hatfield said in an interview with CNBC, adding that he has a year-end target for the S&P 500 of 6,600. That implies a gain of nearly 18% from Thursday's close.

But he doesn't think the S&P 500 will rally above 6,000 until investors' concerns are resolved. "We think there are three areas of uncertainty, not just tariffs but Fed policy and tax policy," he added. "We don't think we're going to break significantly above 6,000 until we get at least two of those three areas pretty clearly defined."

However, many analysts remain cautious about the not-so-optimistic outlook for the US economy due to the Trump administration's erratic tariff policies.

“(Although) earnings are holding up now, many companies are turning cautious on the economic outlook, with guidance and capital spending targets revised lower,” Barclays analyst Emmanuel Cau wrote in a note on Friday. “So something has to change, as many bears may be too optimistic if a recession becomes inevitable.”

The market also reacted to disappointing earnings reports from two members of the “Magnificent Seven.” Apple shares fell 3.7 percent after the company reported second-quarter revenue from its services division that missed analysts’ estimates. The iPhone maker also said it expects tariffs to add $900 million to its current-quarter costs. Amazon shares also fell slightly.

In particular, according to analysts, tariffs are still the dominant factor in the market and if trade negotiations do not achieve the expected results, the market is likely to fall into a sell-off again.

“We’ve seen how financial markets reacted if the administration moved forward with their original tariff plan, so unless they make another move in July when the 90-day pause expires, we’ll see a similar market action to the first week of April,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/chung-khoan-my-bung-no-sau-bao-cao-viec-lam-tot-hon-du-kien-163635.html