Even more important, the previous two months were revised higher by 93,000 jobs. It looks like the labor market was not as soft as investors thought. The unemployment rate stayed at 4.3%, exactly as expected, but the headline payroll number changed the story.

For the Fed, this is awkward. A soft labor market would have made it easier to look past inflation pressures, especially with energy costs still elevated because of the war involving the United States and Iran. A strong labor market does the opposite. It keeps the focus on inflation. If people are still working, spending, and earning, the Fed has less reason to rush toward easier policy. In fact, traders are now thinking more seriously about the possibility of rate hikes, or at least rates staying high for longer than they had hoped.

After the jobs data, futures were mixed but mostly lower: Dow futures were up slightly, while S&P 500 futures fell about 0.5% and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped more than 1%. Good news can become bad news if it suggests the Fed will stay tough.

The pressure is especially visible in technology. The AI and semiconductor trade, which carried much of the market's recovery from the March lows to record highs, is starting to look tired. Nvidia, Intel, Micron, AMD, and Broadcom all traded lower before the open. Broadcom was still under pressure after losing more than 12% on Thursday, a move that wiped out a huge amount of market value and dragged the broader chip sector with it.

The broader market also enters today's session in a more fragile position than it did a week ago. The S&P 500's long winning streak is at risk. The Nasdaq looks set for a weekly decline. The Dow, helped by its lower exposure to the most expensive parts of tech, has held up better and is on track for another weekly gain.

Elsewhere on the market, Lululemon fell sharply after cutting its annual profit forecast and warning on North American sales. Guidewire dropped after annual recurring revenue disappointed. DocuSign, despite raising its revenue outlook, failed to impress investors. The Cooper Companies rose after beating estimates. Crypto-linked names slipped as bitcoin moved toward $60,000.

Then there is SpaceX's looming IPO. S&P Global said it would not change index-eligibility rules, which means Elon Musk's company will not get a quick path into the S&P 500 after going public, even if its IPO becomes the largest ever. That matters because a wave of giant listings, including possible deals involving Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX, could test how much new supply the market can absorb.

In the Middle East, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has lasted 14 weeks, and analysts continue to warn about fuel-price shocks if inventories keep falling. The U.S.-Iran war has entered its fourth month. Trump has said he would meet Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei if a deal is finalized to end the conflict. The ceasefire remains fragile, with attacks exchanged earlier this week. In Lebanon, Hezbollah rejected a new ceasefire proposal, while Israel said it would keep troops in place, complicating Washington's attempt to reduce tensions and move talks with Tehran forward.

Today's economic highlights:

On today's agenda: RBA Hauser's speech in Australia; the Halifax House Price Index in the United Kingdom; industrial production and trade balance in France; retail sales in Italy; in the United States, the participation rate, unemployment rate, non-farm payrolls, and average hourly earnings; in Canada, full-time and part-time employment changes, participation rate, unemployment rate, and the Ivey PMI; finally, BoE Governor Bailey's speech in the United Kingdom. See the full calendar here.

  • Dollar index: 99,204
  • Gold: $4,468
  • Crude Oil (BRENT): $95.4 (WTI) $92.82
  • United States 10 years: 4.47%
  • BITCOIN: $62,132

In corporate news:

  • Microsoft faces a UK CMA probe over its position in the business software market.
  • Citigroup redeems 2.75 billion USD of fixed and floating rate notes due 2027 and 400 million USD of floating rate notes due 2027.
  • Blackstone has limited redemptions from its flagship private credit fund for the first time.
  • Lululemon falls 11% in after-hours trading following its quarterly results.
  • Boeing is considering ramping up production of the 737 to close the gap on Airbus's production targets, according to Air Current. Lufthansa has also reported that the nose gear of a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner collapsed at the boarding gate at Frankfurt Airport.
  • Walmart is adding Subway menus to its 30-minute delivery service.
  • Visa and Brale are exploring private stablecoin settlement for institutional payments.
  • Lakefront Biotherapeutics and Gilead finalise the acquisition of Ouro for $1.68 billion in cash.
  • Terry Duffy, CEO of CME Group, warns of the systemic risk posed by new crypto perpetual contracts.
  • The CEO of Ciena rejects any comparison with the dot-com bubble.
  • Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, launches a new AI lab.
  • PG&E passes the milestone of one million residential solar connections.
  • TES secures a KRW 21.2 billion chip supply contract with SK Hynix.
  • SoftBank Group sets the price for a 260 billion yen hybrid securities issue.

Analyst Recommendations:

  • Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.: JP Morgan upgrades to overweight from neutral and reduces the target price from USD 38 to USD 35.
  • Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc.: Berenberg downgrades to hold from buy and raises the target price from USD 525 to USD 720.
  • Fiserv, Inc.: BNP Paribas downgrades to underperform from neutral and reduces the target price from USD 55 to USD 46.
  • Versigent Plc: UBS upgrades to buy from under review with a price target raised from USD 49 to USD 58.
  • Carvana Co.: Citizens maintains its market outperform recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 515 to USD 103.
  • Ciena Corporation: Morgan Stanley maintains its equalwt recommendation and raises the target price from USD 405 to USD 490.
  • Circle Internet Group, Inc.: Mizuho Securities maintains its neutral recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 135 to USD 85.
  • Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd: Arete Research maintains its buy recommendation and raises the target price from USD 194 to USD 291.
  • Guidewire Software, Inc.: Citizens maintains its market outperform recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 300 to USD 220.
  • Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.: Wells Fargo maintains its overweight recommendation and raises the target price from USD 65 to USD 86.
  • Lululemon Athletica Inc.: Barclays maintains its equalweight recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 161 to USD 113.
  • Okta, Inc.: Daiwa Securities maintains its outperform rating and raises the target price from USD 95 to USD 135.
  • Oracle Corporation: Cantor Fitzgerald maintains its overweight recommendation and raises the target price from USD 229 to USD 284.
  • Palo Alto Networks, Inc.: DZ Bank AG Research maintains its buy recommendation and raises the target price from USD 270 to USD 335.
  • Qualcomm, Inc.: JP Morgan maintains its neutral recommendation and raises the target price from USD 160 to USD 265.
  • Rubrik, Inc.: Barclays maintains its overweight recommendation and raises the target price from USD 70 to USD 90.