The US labor market unexpectedly showed resilience. Oil prices fell sharply after the OPEC+ meeting

The US stocks rose on Friday thanks to a strong jobs report and signs of easing trade tensions between the US and China, which boosted investor confidence. The Dow Jones (US30) Index was up 1.39% (up +2.85% on the week). The S&P 500 Index (US500) was up 1.47% (for the week +2.85%). The Nasdaq Technology Index (US100) closed higher by 1.60% (for the week +3.45%). Nonfarm Payrolls for April rose by 177,000, exceeding expectations and bolstering optimism about the labor market despite lingering uncertainty over tariffs. Further supporting sentiment was Beijing’s openness to a resumption of trade talks, subject to tariff reductions from the US. However, earnings results remained mixed, with Apple shares falling 3.7% after warning of a $900 million tariff hit, and Amazon down 0.1% after a cautious outlook. Exxon Mobil shares were up 0.4% and Chevron was up 1.7% after the results were released.

Canadian GDP rose slightly in March despite falling prices of key Canadian commodities and pessimism over the country’s trade war with the US, reinforcing expectations that GDP may be somewhat resilient to a weakening US economy. On the political front, the Liberal Party of Canada won its fourth consecutive election by a relatively small margin, putting little pressure on the Lonnie after expectations of a majority victory, but still making former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney prime minister of a minority government. So far, the incumbent PM has refrained from prioritizing a trade deal with the US, emphasizing Canada’s influence and preferring to make deals with other countries.

Equity markets in Europe were mostly up on Friday. Germany’s DAX (DE40) gained 2.62% (for the week +3.94%), France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed 2.33% higher (for the week +2.71%), Spain’s IBEX35 (ES35) gained 1.20% (for the week +1.22%), and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) closed 1.17% higher (for the week +2.15%). In Europe, encouraging economic data emerged with inflation unchanged at 2.2% in April, although core inflation rose slightly to 2.7% from 2.5%. Meanwhile, final PMI data for April showed tentative signs of a recovery in manufacturing activity. Shell shares rose by 1.9% after beating first-quarter earnings expectations and launching a $3.5 billion share buyback. Standard Chartered also beat projections thanks to profit gains in wealth management and global banking services.

WTI crude futures fell more than 3% to around $56 a barrel on Monday as OPEC+ agreed to increase production, adding to fears of a global supply glut. OPEC+ will boost oil production for the second straight month, increasing output by 411,000 bpd in June. That could put as much as 2.2 million bpd back on the market by November as group leader Saudi Arabia seeks to punish some members of the organization that have exceeded their quotas.

Asian markets were mostly up last week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) was up 4.08%, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) decreased by 1.17%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) added 1.92%, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) was positive 3.39% over the past week.

The Australian dollar climbed above $0.645 on Monday, hitting its highest level in nearly five months, after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese won a second three-year term in Saturday’s federal election. Albanese promised the government would act in a “disciplined and orderly” manner, focusing on addressing rising living costs and global trade tensions. He also reiterated commitments to expand renewable energy, cut taxes, ease the housing crisis, and invest in Australia’s strained health system. On monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.85% in May.

The New Zealand dollar rose to around US$0.598 on Monday, extending gains from the previous session, helped by continued weakness in the US dollar as investors awaited clearer signals on trade relations between the US and China. On Sunday, President Trump reiterated his confidence that China wants a deal, although he did not provide any details. Meanwhile, Beijing signaled last week that it was open to talks but insisted that the US first remove all unilateral tariffs.