The U.S. labor market is sizzling, surpassing all forecasts in May and posting its strongest performance in recent months. Nonfarm payrolls surged by a whopping 339,000 in May — a massive leap from the expected 190,000 — it seems the labor market is alive and kicking.
Now, investors are asking – are we getting a rate hike at the Fed's next meeting?
Well, May's jobs data brought surprises, primarily in the form of an unemployment rate jump from 3.4% to 3.7%, above forecasts of a slight increase to 3.5%.
On a more upbeat note, average hourly wages grew by 0.3% month-on-month, meeting expectations despite a slowdown from April's gain of 0.4%. However, annual wage growth fell short at 4.3%, unable to reach expectations or match April's 4.4% figure.
Significant revisions were made for March and April's total nonfarm payroll employment, adding 52,000 and 41,000 jobs respectively.
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The Final Countdown: The jobs report is the final major economic indicator preceding the Fed's policy decision and May inflation rate release, scheduled for June 14. The robust employment and steady wage growth could sway the Fed toward a more restrictive monetary policy stance.
As investors grappled with the surprising job numbers, they adjusted their expectations for a June Fed rate hike, nudging up the probability from 20% to 27%.
In early trading on Friday, the S&P 500 index was up 0.72%, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed by 3 basis points to 3.63%.
But what about individual stocks? Here's a snapshot of 10 stocks that danced to the tune of May's booming jobs report during Friday's premarket session:
- Nova Ltd (NASDAQ:NVMI) –10.59%
- Apollomics Inc (NASDAQ:APLM) +7.39%
- Senseonics Holdings Inc (NYSE:SENS) +Up 5.79%
- Carvana Co (NYSE:CVNA) –5.07%
- Qurate Retail Inc (NASDAQ:QRTEA) –4.45%
- OPKO Health Inc (NASDAQ:OPK) +4.32%
- Aurora Innovation Inc (NASDAQ:AUR) –3.32%
- Purple Innovation Inc (NASDAQ:PRPL) –3.3%
- Zscaler Inc (NASDAQ:ZS) +3.19%
- AST SpaceMobile Inc (NASDAQ:ASTS) –3.16%
Now Read: Benzinga's 'Stock Whisper' Index: 5 Stocks Investors Are Secretly Monitoring But Not Talking About Yet
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