US: Wall Street gains after good jobs data

[NEW YORK] US equities closed the first session of the second quarter higher on Friday after data showed American businesses adding workers in March, though the manufacturing sector is struggling amid high inflation.

Amazon closed 0.4 per cent higher after its workers in New York voted to launch the first American union at the e-commerce giant, in a milestone for the company that has steadfastly opposed organised labour in its ranks.

The government jobs report for March showed employers adding 431,000 positions and the unemployment rate falling to 3.6 per cent, a hair above where it was before the pandemic.

Analysts said the report bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates by half a per centage point at its meeting next month.

"Given the strength of the labor market and inflation well above target, the probability that the Fed raises rates by 50 (basis points) at its next meeting in May - which is our baseline - is rising," Daniel Vernazza of UniCredit Bank said in a note.

However, the Institute for Supply Management reported the US manufacturing sector's expansion slowed last month amid a spike in energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.4 per cent higher at 34,818.27, while the broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.3 per cent to finish at 4,545.86.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index won 0.3 per cent to close at 14,261.50.

The Fed's approach to combatting the record wave of price increases hitting the US economy could be fleshed out next week when the central bank releases the minutes of its March policy meeting. AFP