- Stocks are on the verge of a bull market as a result of the relentless rally in big tech, options positioning, and bets on a Federal Reserve pause following a mixed jobs report.
- The S&P 500's 1.5% gain brought the benchmark's gain from its October low to nearly 20%. A gauge of large-cap stocks such as Tesla and Apple gained for the sixth week in a row, the longest winning streak in nearly two years. Broadcom rose after predicting that sales related to artificial intelligence would more than double this year.
- As stocks rose. The fear gauge on Wall Street has dropped to its lowest level since February 2020. The Cboe Volatility Index fell below 15 from an average of 23 in the previous year. The risk-taking mode also drove the Russell 2000 small-cap index, which includes several regional banks, up about 3.5%.
- Wall Street’s reaction to the latest jobs report showed bets that another Fed hike is likely in the bag - but that wouldn’t necessarily happen in June.
- Two-year yields, which are more sensitive to imminent central bank moves, jumped 15 basis points to 4.5%. Swaps are pricing almost a quarter-point hike across the next two Fed meetings. But indicating a less than 50% chance of that happening this month.
