The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed more than 250 points Friday, ending the index’s best week of the year, as lackluster economic news prompted speculation that the Federal Reserve would lower interest rates.
Lower rates make it cheaper for companies to borrow money, a boost for both investment in new projects and repayment of higher-rate debt. The blue-chip index’s close at 25,983 , a weekly gain of 4.7%, still remained below its highs earlier this year.
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The broader S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were up 4.4% and 3.9%, respectively. The three major indices are often viewed as a measure of the U.S. stock market as a whole.
President Trump celebrated the index’s uptick upon his return from a week in Europe where he commemorated the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Dow Jones has best week of the year!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2019
The news came hours after the administration announced that the U.S. economy added only 75,000 jobs in May, the second time in four months that jobs growth was less than 100,000.
Economists at major investment banks said the mediocre gains would likely prompt Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to follow through on hints that the central bank would cut rates, particularly if Trump imposed tariffs that he had threatened on Mexican goods. That would have escalated an already-sprawling trade war.
Late Friday evening, however, the White House announced that a last-minute deal in which Mexico agreed to help curb illegal immigration across the U.S. border had rendered the duties unnecessary.
