Wall Street

Wall Street closed lower, Friday, amid concerns regarding rising Treasury yields and the possibility of the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates.
The strong rise in employment has raised concerns regarding a larger rate hike this year.
And the US Labor Department issued data that came stronger than expected for jobs, as jobs in the non-farm sectors rose by 428,000 jobs in April, once morest expectations of adding 391,000 jobs, confirming the strength of fundamental factors for the economy despite the contraction in gross domestic product in the first quarter of general.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed down 23.14 points, or 0.55 percent, to 4,124.09 points, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 173.94 points, or 1.41 percent, to 12,143.75 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 86.16 points, or 0.26 percent, to 32911.81 points.
American companies continued to hire in large numbers in April, according to figures released by the Labor Department on Friday, while President Joe Biden praised the solidity of the labor market, which he considered a fruit of his economic policy.
Despite rising costs due to chronic labor shortages and record inflation, companies have secured 428,000 new jobs, especially in the services, manufacturing and transportation sectors that have been hardest hit by the Covid pandemic.
The outcome exceeded analysts’ expectations, creating 395,000 new jobs.
In two years, the US economy recreated regarding 95 percent of the 22 million jobs that were lost when the Covid pandemic crippled economic activity and plunged the United States into a deep recession starting in the spring of 2020.
“Our policy actions have resulted in the creation of the highest number of jobs in modern times,” President Joe Biden said in a statement, adding that “the drop in the unemployment rate (is) the fastest ever at the start of a presidential term.”
The unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent, touching the rate recorded in February 2020, before the outbreak of the epidemic, and at that time it settled at 3.5 percent, its lowest level since 1969.
The Ministry of Labor said in a statement that the number of unemployed people in April remained “unchanged fundamentally at 5.9 million” people.
The US administration hopes to create more than 4 million job opportunities this year, and the unemployment rate will drop to 3.3 percent by the end of the year.
According to a Labor Department survey published this week, there were more than 11 million jobs available in the country in March, a record number. (Archyde.com)

Wall Street closed significantly higher on Thursday following a positive earnings report from Meta Platforms lifted previously battered technology and growth-related shares and countered by concerns regarding the US economy’s first-quarter contraction.
Shares of the company that owns Facebook jumped 17.6% following the social network reported higher-than-expected profits and recovered from a decline in the number of users.
Apple and Amazon shares also rose more than 4 percent.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed up 2.47 percent, to end the session at 4,287.50 points.
The Nasdaq index rose 3.06% to 12,871.53 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.85% to 33,916.39 points.

Europe shares

European shares rose from their lowest level in six weeks reached in the previous session, as concerns regarding slowing global economic growth eased following the announcement of better-than-expected results for companies, including energy major Total Energies and Volvo Cars, the car maker.
The European Stoxx 600 index closed up 0.6 percent, but it was below its highest levels during the session, as it was affected by data on the growth of the American economy that indicated a contraction in the first quarter of the year, in addition to German inflation, which came higher than expected, which stimulated bets on a faster pace of policy tightening. cash from the European Central Bank.
April was a volatile month for stock markets globally, with the Stoxx 600 dropping to its lowest level in more than a month at one point due to concerns regarding interest rate hikes, valuations of US technology companies, the conflict in Ukraine and coronavirus-related lockdowns in China.
But the index rose during the day, supported by strong business results, as France’s Total Energies rose 3.7% following announcing plans to buy back its shares following core profits rose significantly with the rise in oil and gas prices.
Auto stocks advanced 2.2 percent. Volvo Cars shares jumped 8 percent following its profits exceeded analysts’ expectations, as demand for its products remained strong.
Standard Chartered shares jumped 14.2 percent following it announced positive quarterly results.
Technology shares received a boost from better-than-expected results from Meta Platforms, along with a 17.5 percent increase announced by software specialist Temenos following a report on a possible takeover bid.
Healthcare shares took a hit, with Sanofi falling 0.9 percent, even though its quarterly profit beat estimates.

Japanese stocks

Japanese stocks rose on Thursday following the Bank of Japan reiterated its commitment to ultra-loose monetary policy and investors were relieved that there were no surprises negatively affecting the stock market.

The Nikkei index rose 1.75 percent at the close, recording 26,847.90 points, the largest daily increase since April 13, following falling earlier in the session. The broader Topix index jumped 2.09%, the highest increase since March 23, to record 1,899.62 points.

Toyota Motor shares rose 3.23 percent, and it was one of the largest stocks that supported the Topix index, with the yen falling to its lowest level in 20 years once morest the dollar. Shares of Advantest, which makes chip-making equipment, jumped 4.29 percent and was the biggest supporter of the Nikkei index.

The 1.34 percent drop in shares of Fast Retailing, operator of clothing stores Uniqlo, was the biggest pressure on the Nikkei. (Archyde.com)