S&P 500 has recovered back to levels seen before ‘Liberation Day’, and is on track for nine consecutive days of gains.
Stock indices are continuing their upward momentum, as traders reassess their recession expectations. On Friday, May 5, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading at 41,354.53, up 601.57 points or 1.48% from market open. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 1.56% or 277.15 points, trading at 17,987.89.
At the same time, the S&P 500 rose 1.47% to 5,686.80, continuing its winning streak. If the S&P 500 closes higher today, it would mark nine consecutive days of gains, the longest streak since November 2004.
The main catalyst for today’s rally was better-than-expected job figures. U.S. non-farm payrolls were up 177,000 in April, compared to the 133,000 DOW Jones estimate. While this is still lower than the March gain of 228,000, it still helped ease the fears of a U.S. recession.
S&P 500 and the DOW Jones show consistent gains
Both the S&P 500 and the DOW Jones have closed consistently higher every day since April 21. Easing trade tensions, with more dovish signals from the White House on tariffs, boosted confidence in the U.S. market.
Strong markets also boosted Bitcoin (BTC), which went from $87,333 to $97,382 during that same period. At the same time, traders ditched gold, which went from $3,400 per ounce on April 21 to its current level of $3,237.
Easing trade tensions helped the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq recover to their levels from April 2, or “Liberation Day”. That was when Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on major U.S. trading partners, triggering a sharp selloff in both the markets and the U.S. dollar.
Still, the indices remain below their all-time highs from November, which were driven by hopes for a pro-business Trump presidency. Notably, the Dow Jones, representing the 30 largest U.S. companies, has yet to fully recover to its April 2 level.
