Dow Jones Today: Stock Futures Rise Ahead of April Jobs Report as China Opens Door to Trade Talks With US; Apple Slides After Earnings

Stock futures moved higher Friday morning as investors reacted to strong monthly employment data and news that China is evaluating the possibility of trade talks with the U.S. 

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were each up 0.9% about 45 minutes before the opening bell, while those linked to the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.8%. Stocks gained ground on Thursday—extending the winning streaks for the Dow and S&P 500 to eight consecutive sessions—after Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META) delivered better-than-expected earnings reports and announced big AI investment plans.

Stocks have rallied as quarterly results from major companies have been generally strong, while investors are hopeful that the Trump administration will soften its stance on tariffs. At the same time, investors and corporate executives are concerned about the uncertainty surrounding trade policy and the potential for a significant slowdown in economic activity.

The April jobs report from the Labor Department showed that U.S. employers added 177,000 jobs last month, more than the 133,000 that economists had estimated, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%. The numbers, at least temporarily, alleviate concerns about the toll that tariffs are taking on the economy, which contracted in the first quarter for the first time in three years according to government data released earlier this week.

Meantime on the trade front, a spokesman for China’s Commerce Ministry said Beijing is “currently evaluating” U.S. proposals to start trade talks, the first time China has publicly indicated such a willingness since the countries imposed import tariffs of more than 100% on one another.

Technology stocks remain in focus this morning following the release late yesterday of earnings reports from Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN). Apple shares were down 3% in premarket trading despite strong results from the iPhone maker as CEO Tim Cook said tariffs, if they remain at current levels, will cost the company $900 million in the current quarter. Amazon shares rose 1% after the company reported earnings that topped expectations bur issued a disappointing outlook, citing the uncertainty surrounding tariffs.

Among other mega-cap tech stocks, chipmakers Nvidia (NVDA) and Broadcom (AVGO) were both up more than 2%, while Meta tacked on about 2.5%. Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (GOOG) and Tesla (TSLA) each gained more than 1%.

Shares of Chevron (CVX) were down about 1.5% after the oil major reported quarterly revenue that fell short of analysts’ estimates. Rival ExxonMobil (XOM) gained about 1% after beating expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

Crude oil prices continued to lose ground this morning, trading at their lowest level in four years. West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, was down 0.4% at $59 per barrel.

Gold futures—which hit a record high early last week of around $3,500 an ounce as investors turned to the traditional safe haven amid concerns about tariffs and the economic outlook—were recently up 1.4% at $3,270 an ounce.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, notably mortgages, was at 4.28% recently, up from 4.23% at yesterday’s close. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, was down 0.4% at 99.80.

Bitcoin was little changed at around $97,000, trading near its highest level in more than two months.