Shares of banks and other financial institutions ticked up after surprisingly strong jobs data eased fears about the economic growth outlook.
The Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover, or JOLTS, April tally of job openings reached a multiyear high, suggesting that artificial-intelligence adoption was not gutting the jobs market, as some economists had feared.
"Rising inflation and a strong jobs market could push the Fed toward a more hawkish stance, but that's still preferable to an environment with rising inflation and a weakening labor market, which would raise stagflation concerns heading into the back half of the year and put the Fed in a real bind," said Bret Kenwell, investment analyst at online brokerage eToro, in emailed commentary.
Italian lender UniCredit secured commitments to raise its total stake in Commerzbank past 30%, adding ballast to the Italian bank's pursuit of its German competitor.
A federal jury convicted short-seller and Citron Research founder Andrew Left of securities fraud, siding with prosecutors who accused him of using his media savvy and reputation as a stock savant to manipulate shares in a way that would reward his trades.
