Breaking news: US equities rally on NFP beat of 9,000 jobs, unemployment stable at 4.2%

[Ben Graham]

Following a better-than-expected NFP report, both the dollar and US equities are trading higher.

Since the release, the Dow Jones is up ~0.84%, the Nasdaq-100 by ~0.64%, and the S&P 500 by ~0.73%, respectively.

US April Nonfarm Payrolls: Key Takeaways

• The US April nonfarm payroll report, released at 08:30 ET today, reported better-than-expected job openings, with +139k jobs added vs. +130k jobs expected. Gains mainly occurred in healthcare, hospitality, and social assistance employment.
  
• Unemployment remained stable at 4.2%, despite some expectations of a rise to 4.3%. Wage growth also beat consensus, with average hourly earnings increasing to 3.9% YoY and 0.4% MoM.
  
• Despite beating expectations, questions remain on the health of the US labour market. Unemployment remains historically high, and today’s report shows a contraction in jobs added MoM, with April’s release revised today to +147k.

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A chart showing the recent price action of DJ30USD. OANDA,TradingView, 06/06/2025

• Following today’s NFP report, the Dow Jones trades at ~$42,801, renewing highs made in March. At the time of writing, the index is on pace for its best daily performance since May 12th
  
• Testing positively off the trendline and previously held resistance, the Dow Jones looks to clear previous highs of $42,841, completing an inverse head and shoulders pattern on the daily timeframe
  
• If price can stage a move higher, bulls will likely target ~$43,279, then onto ~$43,580

Nasdaq-100 (NAS100USD) Price Analysis:

/media/images/NAS-100-06-06-2025.width-1400.png

A chart showing the recent price action of NAS100USD. OANDA,TradingView, 06/06/2025

• In reaction to today’s NFP report, the Nasdaq-100 trades higher at around ~$21,791, roughly at 2.00% discount from all-time highs achieved in February
  
• Similarly to the Dow Jones, the Nasdaq-100 has found immediate support near the trendline, breaking above previous highs from late May. Bulls will now likely target $6061
  
• Owing to recent bullish momentum, both the daily RSI and MACD are currently either overbought or very close to overbought conditions, suggesting that a retracement towards the trendline could take place in the short term

S&P 500 (SPX500USD) Price Analysis:

/media/images/SP-500-06-06-2025.width-1400.png

A chart showing the recent price action of SPX500USD. OANDA,TradingView, 06/06/2025

• The S&P 500 has found buying support following a better-than-expected NFP result, and currently trades in the region of ~$6,004, and is pacing well in terms of daily performance
  
• Having previously traded rangebound, between ~$5,957 and ~$5965, today’s US labour report was enough to break to the upside, showing encouraging signs for further bullish momentum
  
• Looking to recover losses from Trump’s Liberation Day sell-off, bulls will likely target $6,066, assuming price maintains momentum in today’s session

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