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Markets

U.S. Stocks Reach New Record Highs Following Upbeat Jobs Data

May 08, 2026 — 04:15 pm EDT

Written by

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(RTTNews) - Following the pullback seen over the course of the previous session, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way higher and reached a new record closing high along with the S&P 500.

The Nasdaq saw further upside going into the end of the day, surging 440.88 points or 1.7 percent to 26,247.08. The S&P 500 also advanced 61.82 points or 0.8 percent to 7,398.93, while the narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, inching up 12.19 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 49,609.19.

For the week, the Nasdaq spiked by 4.4 percent, the S&P 500 jumped by 2.3 percent the Dow crept up by 0.2 percent.

The strength on Wall Street came following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing much stronger than expected U.S. job growth in the month of April.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 115,000 jobs in April after surging by an upwardly revised 185,000 jobs in March.

Economists had expected employment to climb by 63,000 jobs compared to the jump of 178,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The report showed notable job growth in the healthcare, transportation and warehousing, and retail sectors, while federal government employment continued to edge lower.

Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate came in at 4.3 percent in April, unchanged from March and in line with economist estimates.

The data helped ease concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East even after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz last night.

Three U.S. destroyers came under fire from Iranian missiles and drones as they transited the strait, but U.S. Central Command said it eliminated the inbound threats and targeted the Iranian military facilities responsible for the attacks.

In a subsequent phone call with ABC News' Rachel Scott, President Donald Trump called the retaliatory strikes against the Iranian targets "just a love tap" and said the ceasefire remains in effect.

U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces also disabled two Iranian-flagged oil tankers attempting to pull into an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.

Sector News

Computer hardware and semiconductor stocks moved sharply higher on the day, contributing to the strong upward move by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Reflecting the strength in the sectors, the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index soared by 6.6 percent and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiked by 5.5 percent.

Gold stocks also saw considerable strength amid a modest increase by the price of the precious metal, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.2 percent.

Networking, steel and telecom stocks also turned in strong performances, while pharmaceutical stocks showed a notable move to the downside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slipped by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.9 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.1 percent and the German DAX Index tumbled by 1.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries rebounded after turning lower over the course of the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, decreased by 2.8 basis points to 4.364 percent.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.