Stocks Ended with Strong Gains on Rate-cut Hopes

U.S. stocks ended with strong gains on Friday, after a weaker-than-expected report on job gains in May amplified calls for the Federal Reserve to pivot toward easier monetary policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 263.28 points, or 1.02% , to 25,983.94. The S&P 500 gained 29.85 points, or 1.05%, to 2,873.34. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 126.55 points, or 1.66%, to 7,742.10. For the week, the Dow gained 4.7%, the S&P 500 added 4.4%, while the Nasdaq climbed 3.9%

Oil futures climbed for a second straight session Friday, with U.S prices erasing their loss for the week. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery rose $1.40, or 2.7%, to settle at $53.99 a barrel and saw a 0.9% rise for the week. August Brent added $1.62, or 2.6%, to end at $63.29 a barrel. The contract rose 2.1% for the week.

Shares of Microsoft Corp. surged into record territory Friday, enough to push the software giant’s market capitalization above the $1 trillion mark.