The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 241 points higher, or 1%. The S&P 500 gained 0.8% while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.5%. The major averages were headed for their first weekly gains in three.
The Labor Department said a record 20.5 million jobs were lost last month, adding the unemployment rate jumped to 14.7% from just 4.4%. Both the spike in job losses and the unemployment-rate surge are post-World War II records. To be sure, neither print was as bad as feared. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a loss of 21.5 million jobs and an unemployment rate of 16%.
Stocks have rallied aggressively off their March lows as investors bet on an eventual reopening of the economy and that many tech companies would see solid revenue even through the shutdowns. The S&P 500 has bounced more 30% from its virus low and is just 15% from a record.
The Nasdaq Composite is more than 35% off its lows and is now up 0.8% for 2020. Gains from Facebook, Amazon Alphabet and Apple helped lift the index back into positive territory for 2020. At one point, the Nasdaq was down more than 25% year to date.
