(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended up on Friday, supported by a best than expected American employment report and by the hopes of a de -escalation of trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The Dow Jones index won 1.39%, or 564.47 points, at 41,317.43 points. Standard & Poor’s 500, wider, took 82.53 points, or 1.47%, at 5,686.67 points. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 266.99 points, or 1.51%, at 17,977,728 points.

The US economy created 177,000 jobs in April, according to the Commerce Department, while the economists questioned by Reuters provided an average of 130,000 net creations, a little attenuating fears of recession after the first contraction of American GDP in three years.

The resilience of the labor market could however be only temporary while the effects of the commercial policy of President Donald Trump is not yet fully felt.

“The markets are delighted with the better than expected employment report, but it should be noted that employment growth has slowed down during the month and that I have not seen many comments on this subject,” said Talley Leger, Stratège en chief markets at The Wealth Consulting Group.

Investors have also found reasons of comfort in first signs of appeasement of trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, while the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said it was “to assess” a Washington proposal aimed at organizing talks about customs duties.

The trade war launched by Donald Trump nevertheless begins to weigh on the results of American companies, like Apple, which sold 3.73% after having estimated Thursday that its costs would increase by around 900 million dollars in the quarter ending in June due to customs duties.

The oil giants Chevron and Exxon Mobil, however, won 1.64% and 0.40% respectively after the publication of their quarterly results.

(Sruthi Shankar and Purevi Agarwal in Bangalore, Tangi Salaün)

Copyright © 2025 Thomson Reuters