The S&P 500 index rose 1.5% last week as May payrolls came in above expectations. It ended the week at 6,000.36, continuing the market benchmark’s recent wave of positive momentum following a 6.2% jump in May that represented its largest monthly gain since November 2023. The index is now up 2% for 2025.
The May employment report gave the index a boost as it showed U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 139,000, above the 126,000 jobs increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
April and March payrolls, however, had a net downward revision of 95,000 jobs. The unemployment rate remained at 4.2% in May, as expected.
The better-than-forecasted May figure helped provide a bit of a distraction from the latest turmoil in the White House, where President Donald Trump is publicly feuding with Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk. Shares of Tesla (TSLA) fell 15% last week amid the drama, weighing down the consumer discretionary sector, which slipped 0.6%.
Still, most sectors rose in the week, led by a 3.2% climb in communication services and a 3% increase in technology. Other top gainers included energy, up 2.2%, and materials, up 1.4%.
Along with the decline in the consumer discretionary sector, consumer staples fell 1.6% and utilities shed slightly more than 1%.
Earnings this week are expected from companies including Oracle, Adobe, and GameStop, among others.
Economic data will include two closely watched inflation measures for May: the consumer price index and producer price index. A preliminary reading on June consumer sentiment will also be released.
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