It was another solid week of gains on Wall Street as investors welcomed a better-than-expected monthly jobs report. U.S. nonfarm payrolls grew by 177,000 in April, broadly topping economists’ consensus forecast for 130,000, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%. The relief helped offset Monday news that first quarter GDP contracted for the first time since Q1 2022 (see chart below). With last week’s gains, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed higher than they were before President Trump’s April 2 announcement for reciprocal tariffs. On Friday, the S&P 500 also capped its ninth straight daily gain, its longest sustained rally since November 2004.