Investors were initially caught off guard Tuesday by a sweeping revision to U.S. employment data, after the Bureau of Labor Statistics removed 911,000 nonfarm payroll jobs from its count between April 2024 and March 2025, indicating the labor market had been cooling far earlier than many on Wall Street had anticipated.
UNH shares are climbing. See what is driving the move here.
Markets briefly dipped in the wake of the data release. Yet, major U.S. equity indices showed some recovery by midday in New York as the sharp downward revision in payrolls further strengthens the case for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates.
The S&P 500 traded 0.2% higher near 6,500 points, about 0.5% off its all-time high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% at 45,640 points, positioning itself for a potential record close.
Energy stocks outperformed as oil prices rose in response to renewed geopolitical tensions as Israel, with …