Economists expected the U.S. Labor Department to report that employers added 135,000 jobs last month. That’s a healthy number, but it would be down sharply from the surprisingly strong 228,000 jobs added in March.
Many economists worry the job market could deteriorate with Trump’s massive taxes on imports to the U.S. likely to raise costs for Americans and American businesses, which could result in slower economic growth.
However, hopes that Trump may eventually roll back some of his tariffs after reaching trade deals with other countries has helped to support markets this week. On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% for an eighth straight gain, its longest winning streak since August.
In Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX advanced 1.5%, the CAC 40 in Paris climbed 1.3% and Britain’s FTSE 100 was 0.7%.
In Asian trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 1.7% to 22,504.68 while markets in Shanghai were closed for a public holiday. Taiwan’s benchmark jumped 2.7%.