The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the other major U.S. stock indexes gained on Friday as the latest jobs report showed better-than-expected results. The economy added 303,000 new jobs in March, surpassing estimates of 205,000. The unemployment rate decreased to 3.8%.
The jobs report brought back excitement back to the market after a selloff for much of the week, as the jobs growth fueled hopes of falling inflation — which fueled hope that the Fed will lower interest rates later this year.
The Dow was up 318 points, or about 0.8%, shortly before markets closed, to 38,915. The S&P 500 jumped 1.1% to 5,202 and the Nasdaq rose 1.2% to 16,242.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed about nine basis points to about 4.39%. The jump in the Treasury note is important as it indicates that investors prefer investments with higher risk and reward.
GE Aerospace was the top performer
GE Aerospace and GE Vernova began trading as two separate entities on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this week following their spinoff from GE. On Friday, GE Aerospace announced an increase in its quarterly dividend payment from 8 cents to 28 cents per share, effective April 15, a whopping 250% increase.
That helped make GE Aerospace stock Friday’s top performer, with a 5.5% increase. The stock hovered around $155 per share late Friday, after reaching its new 52-week high.
Amazon and Meta up on latest price targets
Meta was among the top performers as it reached a new 52-week high on Friday. The social media company’s shares rose by 3% following a positive report from analysts at Jefferies and RBC, who raised their price targets. The analysts said the parent company of Facebook and Instagram is strengthening its position in the digital ad market. The stock was hovering around $526 late in the day. The company’s next earnings report is scheduled for April 24.
Separately, Jefferies analysts raised Amazon’s price target from $190 to $225. The stock was up 2.5% to $184 per share.
Tesla’s bumpy ride continues
Tesla has struggled all year, and that continued on Friday. Shares in Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker dropped 4% to $164 following a report that it is abandoning long-promised plans to produce a low-cost EV.
Tesla stock is down more than 33% so far this year. Earlier this week it reported a drop in quarterly sales to cap off what one analyst described as a “nightmare” first quarter.
Cinemark is up as ‘movies are back’
A Wells Fargo analyst upgraded his outlook on Cinemark stock from “sell” straight to “buy,” a tremendous show of optimism.
“Movies are back!” the research note accompanying the upgrade says.
Cinemark stock jumped 3.8% on Friday, reaching a new 52-week high.
Teladoc CEO departure sinks stocks
Teladoc Health CEO Jason Gorevic announced his sudden departure on Friday. Since 2021, stock of the telehealth company has fallen by 92%, making it difficult for the company to maintain a positive position in the post-pandemic era.
Teladoc stock hit a new 52-week low on Friday and recovered in the late afternoon with a 1.5% jump.
A 10% drop in Trump Media stocks
Trump Media & Technology Group stock fell more than 10% on Friday, hitting its lowest point since debuting as a publicly traded company last week.
Shares in Trump Media, the company behind former President Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, traded at $41.08 mid-afternoon Friday, giving the company a market cap of $5.62 billion — a more than $2 billion drop from its first trading day. The stock was trading at its lowest level since Trump Media entered the public market following its merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
–Melvin Backman, William Gavin, Rocio Fabbro, and Bruce Gil contributed to this article.