Tech Stocks Stay Strong Despite Mixed Employment Report

Key Takeaways

• Jobs Number Offers Little Clarity
• Tech Stocks Remain Strong
• Oil Rallying

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at their highest levels since August on Thursday. A higher close today would see the Nasdaq making it six consecutive weekly gains. With legislation to suspend the debt ceiling signed overnight, one worry for the market is avoided. Now the question will become, what’s next for interest rates following today’s employment report.

This morning’s jobs number offered some mixed messages. Economists were expecting 180 thousand new jobs and an unemployment rate of 3.5%. Instead, 339 thousand new jobs were created in May while the unemployment report came in slightly higher than expected at 3.7%. Heading into this morning’s employment report, there was a 30% chance the Fed would raise rates by a quarter point and 70% chance they would sit tight. Following the report, those probabilities remained about the same. Expectations as to what the Fed will do next have been in flux all week as various members of the Fed offered disparate opinions on interest rates.

Despite debt ceiling and potential interest rate concerns, the story of this market has been and continues to be, tech. Shares of Apple
AAPL
closed May at their highest level since 2021 and are on track to make an all-time high. Nvidia continues its torrid run as its market cap flirts with $1 trillion. Amazon
AMZN
and Google
GOOG
are both up around 50% from their 2022 lows, while Microsoft
MSFT
, Netflix and Tesla
TSLA
are all strong. We’ll see what effect today’s employment report and any changes in interest rate expectations have on this sector.

Other stocks making news this morning include Lululemon and Broadcom
AVGO
. Both companies beat on earnings estimates and also raised full year guidance. Shares of Lulu are higher by 13% in early trading while shares of Broadcom are higher by 3.5%.

In commodities, gold is looking to close higher after three consecutive down weeks. For the year, gold is up 8%. Oil is higher this morning by 2.5%. After hitting a low of $67 on Tuesday, prices have since turned and rallied over 7%.

In a year that has been filled with concerns about inflation, a potential debt default and heighted global tensions, this has been a very resilient market. The S&P 500 is now above the 4200 level I’ve repeatedly spoken about as an area of resistance. The Nasdaq is at levels not seen since a year ago. Volatility is down in an area we haven’t touched since 2021. Heading into the summer months, the market arguably looks the best it’s looked in a year. At the same time, the moment investors become complacent tends to be the moment markets decide things went a bit too far. As always, I would stick with your investing plans and long term objectives.

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