Dow Jones Industrial Average Rips Higher on May Jobs Report

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is soaring today after an unexpectedly positive jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor. The United States evidently added 2.5 million jobs instead of losing 8 million.

The markets don't seem to be calming down as the economy reopens. Here's everything moving the Dow today.

First, here are the numbers from Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Now let's take a look at what I consider to be the most important market events to start your day.

The Top Stock Market Stories for Friday

• Today is all about jobs, jobs, jobs. This morning, the U.S. Labor Department released the May jobs report. Economists were anticipating that the United States had lost millions of jobs in May. But the economy in fact added 2.5 million jobs. The unemployment rate, once above 20%, has fallen to 13.3%. With that in mind, we're starting to hear rumblings about a V-shaped recovery. Most investors are betting that May represented the bottom of the coronavirus pandemic.

• Johns Hopkins University reports that the number of new daily COVID-19 infections increased on a seven-day average after the Memorial Day holiday. New infections rose to 21,763 for the last seven days, reports say. That figure is up from the 20,600 reported on May 28. With recent protests across the nation following the death of George Floyd, it remains unclear on whether the United States would attempt to shut down again on another wave. The CDC warned on Thursday that a lot of people were not wearing masks and following the agency's public warnings in the disease. Across America, the number of cases rose to just shy of 1.9 million.

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• Airline stocks are leading the FOMO rally on Friday. United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL), American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL), Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL), Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV), and JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) all ripped higher this morning as bookings continue to recover. Although bookings remain well below normal levels compared to 2019, the uptick in consumer demand remains a positive development for the beaten-down sector.

Stocks to Watch Today: EXPE, WORK, AMZN, GPS

• Shares of Expedia Group Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) and IAC Interactive Corp. (NYSE: IAC) are trending this morning due to an announcement by their chair, Barry Diller. In an interview with CNBC, Diller said that the companies would not be providing earnings guidance in the future. Diller said in April he wanted the government to bailout every company impacted by COVID-19. He later said that "we'll worry about paying the bills later."
• Shares of Slack Technologies Inc. (NYSE: WORK) dropped more than 13% this morning after the company reported a quarterly loss of $0.02 for the first quarter. That is lower than the $0.06 loss anticipated by analysts. Despite also beating earnings expectations, the firm said that it experienced slower growth in its paid customer base. The company also withdrew its billings guidance for next year. That said, the stock might be a very good long-term opportunity given its recent partnership with Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN).
• Shares of Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) were off 2% after the iconic retailer announced dismal earnings. For Q1, the company reported EPS of $2.51, a figure well below the expected loss of $0.67 by Wall Street. The firm said that revenue also fell well below expectations. Despite an improved swing in online sales, the firm said that store closures hurt the firm's bottom line and profitability. The company said that it will continue to reopen stores across the United States as the summer begins.

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