Stocks continued to surge to start June on positive economic news and optimism over the reopening of global economy. The S&P 500 gained 4.9% and the Dow jumped 6.8% for the week. The S&P 500 is just 1.1% short of where it started the year. Abroad, the FTSE All World Ex US rose 7.4% for the week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose as investors moved away from safe havens finishing the week at 0.90% up from 0.65%, the previous week.
US employers unexpectedly added 2.5 million jobs in May, the most on record, while a loss of 8.3 million was expected. The unemployment rate fell from 14.7% in April to 13.3% in May. Economists had estimated it could reach 20%.
The total number of Americans now receiving unemployment benefits rose to 21.5 million.
US manufacturing continued to contract in May, but the pace of contraction slowed.
Manufacturing activity in China expanded in May, however evidence suggests growth is starting to stall.
China’s services sector returned to strong growth in May, while other developed countries, including the US, still declined, but at a lesser pace.
The Fed expanded the municipalities allowed to borrow directly from the Fed’s lending program.
The ECB significantly increased its bod buying program to $1.52 trillion moving it more in line with the Fed.