The stock market rallied into Friday's key jobs report. Apple popped late on earnings and massive stock buyback.
European and Asian shares were mostly higher Friday ahead of a report on U.S. employment that is expected to show the economy remains strong despite a prolonged bout of high interest rates. The Japanese yen strengthened slightly against the U.S. dollar amid signs of heavy central bank intervention to tamp down the dollar’s advance. The financial newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that estimates showed the government spending an estimated 8 trillion yen (about $50 billion) in reserves this week to try to keep the yen from slipping further against the dollar.
A gauge of global stocks climbed on Thursday after the Federal Reserve indicated it was leaning toward a dovish stance, while the dollar retreated against the yen after another suspected round of intervention by the Bank of Japan. On Wall Street, U.S. stocks closed with solid gains, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that while recent inflation readings mean it will likely take longer than expected for central bank officials to become comfortable that inflation will resume its decline, interest rate increases also remained unlikely. Markets have consistently scaled back the timing and amount of rate cuts this year from the Fed as inflation has proved to be sticky and the labor market remains on solid footing.