Stocks rise as markets bet the worst is over

Wall Street doubled down on its bet that the worst of the recession has passed, sending stocks higher again on Friday despite another historic, crushing report on the job market.

Stocks around the world were already rising before the U.S. government gave its monthly report on jobs, in part on hopes that the U.S. and China won’t restart their trade war. After the report showed employers cut a record-busting 20.5 million jobs last month, the gains actually accelerated.

While the number is a nightmare, it was slightly below the 21 million that economists told markets to brace for.

Instead of looking backward at last month’s job losses, some investors focused instead on the prospect of growth resuming later this year. They bought stocks of retailers that laid out plans to reopen in coming weeks, energy companies that would benefit as people start driving again and banks that may skirt the worst-case avalanche of loan defaults.

“So, equity investors are looking for that hope in the third and fourth quarter of this year,” said Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors. “That’s what this optimism is about.”

The S&P 500 rose 48.61, or 1.7%, to 2,929.80 for its fourth gain in the last five days, and it closed out its first winning week in the last three. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 455.43, or 1.9%, to 24,331.32, and the Nasdaq composite rose 141.66, or 1.6%, to 9,121.32.

Many analysts are skeptical of the rally, though, saying the economy likely won’t recover nearly as vigorously and quickly as the stock market has.

Companies whose profits are usually most closely tied to the strength of the economy led the market higher. Energy producers in the S&P 500 jumped 4.3% for the biggest gain of the 11 sectors that make up the index. Industrial companies and financial stocks were also stronger than the rest of the market.

Stocks got off to a strong start earlier on Friday after a Chinese state media report said top U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators talked on the phone and are working to implement a trade deal. That helped calm building concerns that tensions between the world’s largest economies may flare up again.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose $1.19, or 5.1%, to settle at $24.74 a barrel, continuing its strong week and recovering some more of its record-setting losses from earlier in the year. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose $1.51, or 5.1% to $30.97 a barrel.