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The stock market moved higher on Friday and posted solid gains this week, as investors assessed a stronger-than-expected jobs report amid ongoing fears that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes could plunge the economy into a recession.
The market has moved into a “good news is bad news phase,” experts say.
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Markets were mostly higher in choppy trading: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, less than 100 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1%.
The US economy added back 372,000 jobs in June—surpassing the roughly 250,000 new jobs economists had projected but falling short of the revised estimate of 384,000 jobs added in May, according to new Labor Department data on Friday.
Stocks initially opened lower as rates surged, with investors anticipating that the strong jobs report will strengthen the Federal Reserve’s resolve in continuing to aggressively raise interest rates in a bid to combat inflation.
With recession fears still weighing on investor sentiment, markets are now pricing in a roughly 95% probability that the Fed will deliver a 75-basis-point rate hike later this month, according to CME Group data.
Shares of Twitter, meanwhile, declined 4% after The Washington Post reported Tesla billionaire Elon Musk’s deal to buy the social media company is “in peril” and that some discussions have been halted.
Shares of video game retailer GameStop fell nearly 5% in early trading—a day after jumping roughly 15% on the back of a 4-for-1 stock split—amid news of layoffs and the company’s chief financial officer departing.