Stock Market Today: U.S. Stocks Surging on Strong March Jobs Report, Low Wage Inflation

• U.S. stocks surged on Friday after a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report for March.

• The U.S. economy added 303,000 new jobs last month, well above economists' estimates of 212,000.

• The jobs report showed subdued wage inflation, which could hint at a milder CPI report next week.

U.S. stocks surged on Friday, recovering most of Thursday's losses after the March jobs report came in better than analysts expected.

The U.S. economy added 303,000 jobs in March, well above economists' estimates of 212,000. Investors chose to rate the strong economic data positively, believing that the economic expansion will drive earnings growth. This optimism seems to outweigh concerns that the Federal Reserve will delay interest rate cuts.

The report also showed that the Unemployment Rate fell to 3.8% from 3.9% and wage inflation eased during the month. This is important as wage inflation plays a key role in overall inflation and suggests that next week's CPI report may not surprise to the upside.

"Another blowout payrolls report suggests that the economy is running strong and well out of recession, with the economy growing by an average of 276,000 jobs per month in the last quarter," Sonu Varghese, a strategist at the Carson Group, told Business Insider. "The mass of labor will push through any Fed rate cuts, but the slowdown in wage growth means we're not in the midst of a labor market-induced inflationary surge. This will translate any rate cuts by the Fed, but the slowdown in wage growth means we are not in the midst of a labor market-induced surge in inflation."

Here's what the U.S. stock indexes were doing at the 4 p.m. close on Friday:

• S&P 500 Index::5204.34 points, up 1.1 percent.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average38,904.04 points, up 0.8% (307 points)

• Nasdaq Resonanceindices16,248.52 points, up 1.2%.

What else happened today?

• A string of layoffs in Apple's research and development department suggests that chief executive Tim Cook is trying to refocus the company after the failure of its electric car project.

• Bitcoin's peak will signal a turbulent six months for the stock market, according to a Wall Street strategist.

• Earlier this week, the U.S. government transferred 2,000 Bitcoins from its $2 billion cryptocurrency wallet, Coinbase.

• Tesla shares fell 6% after a Reuters report claimed the company was scrapping its low-cost Model 2 car, despite Elon Muskoon denying the report.

• A fund that offers investors the opportunity to buy shares of pre-IPO companies has risen 818% since its IPO two weeks ago.

Commodities, bonds and cryptocurrencies:

• West Texas Intermediatecrude oil rose 0.20% to $86.76 a barrel. International benchmark Brent crude oil jumped 0.39% to $91.00 per barrel.

• Gold jumped 1.50% to $2,343.20 an ounce.

• The 10-year Treasury yield rose 7 basis points to 4.39%.

• Bitcoin fell 0.99% to $67,844.

Read the original article on Business Insider