Markets rise after US hirings remain solid in wake of Trump tariffs

Markets on both sides of the Atlantic rose yesterday after hiring in the US slowed by less than expected last month, offering hope that the world's largest economy was in a better-than-feared position to withstand the fallout from the president's tariffs.

- Joanna Partridge Michael Sainato

On Wall Street the S&P 500 was up 1.5% and the Dow Jones rose 1.3% by early afternoon yesterday, while European markets closed higher after official figures showed 177,000 joined the US workforce last month.

It was a slowdown compared with March - when 185,000 jobs were added - but it was better than the 130,000 expected by economists.

In the UK, the FTSE 100 closed up 1.2% at 8,596, marking its longest-ever winning streak and the 15th straight day of gains. Germany's DAX rose 2.5% and France's CAC rose 2.3%, building on earlier gains after reports that Beijing was considering trade negotiations with Washington.

The FTSE has now recovered almost all of the losses made early last month, when Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs first sent global markets plummeting over fears of a trade war.

"The FTSE has surged higher, racing into a record winning streak, as fresh optimism pulses through markets," said Susannah Streeter, the head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.