US stocks rallied on Friday, with the S&P 500 adding 1% to cross over the 6,000 mark and hitting its highest level since February, boosted by a stronger-than-expected jobs report and renewed optimism around US-China trade talks. The Dow gained 442 points and the Nasdaq rose 1.2%, led by a sharp rebound in Tesla, which jumped 3.7% after tensions between Elon Musk and President Trump appeared to cool. The labor market added 139K jobs in May, exceeding forecasts and easing fears of a near-term slowdown. Meanwhile, Trump offered a glimmer of optimism on the trade front, announcing that US-China negotiations are set to resume next week in London. Still, President Donald Trump called on Fed Chairman Powell to cut interest rates by a full percentage point, calling it "rocket fuel" for the economy. Major tech stocks, including Nvidia (1.2%), Meta (1.9%), and Apple (2.1%) posted gains. For the week, all three major indexes advanced, with the S&P and Dow up over 1% and the Nasdaq rising 2%.
India's BSE Sensex closed about 0.9% higher at 82,189 on Friday, marking its largest daily gain since May 23 and extending its winning streak to three consecutive days. Market sentiment was lifted by the RBI’s surprise 50 basis point cut to the benchmark policy repo rate, bringing it down to 5.5%, along with a 100 basis point reduction in the cash reserve ratio to 3%. However, global trade uncertainties remained a source of caution. Rate-sensitive sectors such as banking, real estate, automobiles, and consumer durables led the broad-based rally. Top gainers included Bajaj Finance (+5%), Axis Bank (+3.1%), IndusInd Bank (+2.4%), Bajaj Finserv (+2.2%), Maruti (+2.6%) and Tata Steel (+2.1%). Sun Pharma (-0.4%) and Bharti Airtel (-0.1%) were the only laggards. For the week, the index added 0.9%, marking its 3rd straight weekly rise.
