Stock markets ended last week on a strong note: the S&P 500 climbed 1.6%, the Nasdaq rose 2.3%, and the Dow gained just over 1%, bringing the S&P 500 to within roughly 2% of its record high.
The advance followed May’s jobs report, which showed payrolls increased by 139,000 and the unemployment rate remained at 4.2%. Attention now turns to a busy economic calendar this week, with key inflation releases for consumer and wholesale prices and fresh consumer sentiment readings that may influence market direction. Markets are also watching ongoing U.S.-China trade talks in London for any developments on tariffs and trade policy.
On the corporate front, investors will be watching earnings reports from GameStop, Oracle and Adobe, along with updates from Apple at its developer conference. While the modest payroll gain helped ease short-term recession worries and supports the view that the Federal Reserve may hold rates steady, some economists caution that the details of the report — including downward revisions to prior months and rising unemployment among prime-age workers — warrant careful monitoring.