U.S. stock futures were higher Monday, as investors shrugged off a disastrous Good Friday jobs report that badly missed expectations.
With the stock markets closed on Good Friday, it was a long weekend for investors who were anxious to see how the markets responds to the 126,000 new jobs created in March—only about half of what was expected.
But when trading opened Monday, the market moved up. Some experts believe the weak jobs report—the worst since December 2013—could be the catalyst the Federal Reserve needs to continue putting off a hike in interest rates. Oil prices pushed stocks as well. rising 6% to just over $52 a barrel.
Experts expressed confusion over the reaction to such soft data. Robert Pavlik of Boston Private Wealth went as far as to tell CNBC it was a “moronic plunge into stocks.”
Elsewhere, first-quarter earnings season begins this week, with investors expressing new concerns over how the strength of the dollar will impact the results.
Here are the final numbers from Monday on Wall Street:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,883.32 (+120.08)
NASDAQ: 4,917.32 (+30.38)
S&P 500: 2,080.79 (+13.83)
