The first full week of June means that the jobs report for May was released to much fanfare. Friday morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed that the economy added 172,000 jobs during that time. In addition, April’s report was revised upward to 179,000 jobs.

The May figure was well above analyst expectations as it was believed the economy added 85,000 jobs prior to the release. This will at least temporarily shut down the narrative that the economy has hit a rough patch. Combined with the latest surge in the equity markets, it’s safe to say that there is reason for optimism.

Of course, that wasn’t the only major news announcement to come out this week. Monday saw the release of the ISM Manufacturing PMI, which came in at 54.0. This was higher than the expected 53.3 and implies that the sector is undergoing a period of expansion.

On Tuesday, the JOLTS report was released and found that there were 7.62 million open positions in the country. Analysts had expected there to be 6.87 million jobs available before the release. An increase in open positions may imply that companies are hiring again and looking for talent. However, it could also imply that companies are content to leave open positions unfilled for the time being.

Wednesday saw the release of the other jobs report in the form of the ADP Nonfarm Payroll number. It found that there were 112,000 jobs added to the economy in May. This was only slightly higher than the 108,000 projected prior to the release, and April’s figure was left unchanged at 105,000.

Despite the positive employment news, the S&P 500 was down for the week. On Friday, it closed at 7,384, which was a drop of 188 points since the open on Monday. This was a loss of 2.48 percent over the last five trading days. For the week, the market made a high of 7,612 on Monday and closed near the low of the week on Friday.

Although the market lost ground on Friday, Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to eke out a win for the week. It would finish at 50,866, which was a gain of 12.81 points over the last five days. This was a gain of .03 percent since Monday. For the week, the index made a high of 51,614 on Thursday afternoon.

The Nasdaq was the biggest loser of the week tumbling 4.4 percent to finish the week at 28,957. This was a loss of 1,333 for the index that underperformed the other two major indexes because of its exposure to AI stocks. There is still some concern about where the market is heading, and some believe that AI is creating a bubble. There are also concerns that all the major indexes are overvalued right now and due for a correction. Despite its losses, the Nasdaq is still up 5 percent for the month and over 30 percent over the last 12 months.

In international news, Canada also released its jobs report for the month on Friday. The nation revealed that their economy added 86,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate now sits at 6.6 percent. For comparison, the American unemployment rate is 4.3 percent as of June 5. Australia announced that its gross domestic product (GDP) for the most recent quarter was 0.3 percent compared to an expected 0.5 percent. On Thursday evening, Switzerland revealed that inflation grew by 0.2 percent in May.

The upcoming week is sure to be another interesting one as inflation data will be revealed on Wednesday. Core inflation is expected to tick up to 2.9 percent from 2.8 percent while overall inflation is expected to increase to 4.2 percent on an annualized basis compared to 3.8 percent in April. In addition, the Price Producer Index for May will be released on Thursday, and prices are expected to have increased by 0.7 percent during that time.

It was another interesting week for market participants. Perhaps the most important event was news that the United States and Iran are closing in on a permanent peace deal. Although the two sides have negotiated a temporary cease fire, there is still no agreement to officially end hostilities.

This had an impact on oil and gold prices as they both took a significant tumble as the week progressed. Gold dropped below $4,400 an ounce before rebounding to close the week roughly where it had opened on Monday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil dropped from around $100 a barrel at the start of the week to about $90 at the close of Friday.

The other major news event this week was the release of the Core PCE Price Index and the preliminary GDP figures for the first quarter of the 2026. The Core PCE Price Index is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation and came in at 0.2 percent for the month compared to an expected rise of 0.3 percent.

Preliminary GDP data suggests that the economy grew by 1.6 percent in the first quarter of 2026. This was less than the expected growth of 2 percent, and it could be a sign the economy might finally be wilting from the weight of higher inflation and wage pressures. For what it’s worth, unemployment claims rose slightly in the past week to 215,000 requests for benefits.

Consumer confidence was up slightly according to data from the Consumer Board. On Tuesday, it was revealed that consumer confidence was at 93.1 compared to an expected 91.9. However, that was still slightly lower than last month’s 93.8, and generally speaking, any reading lower than 100 suggests consumer pessimism. The data also meshes with the consensus from the University of Michigan that says consumers are extremely pessimistic about where the economy is going.

Despite what consumers might feel right now, the stock market continues to be resilient. The S&P 500 was up 90 points this week to close at 7,580. This was a 1.2 percent increase from the start of trading on Monday, and in the last 12 months, the index is up just over 28 percent. For the week, the index made a low of 7,506 on Tuesday and a high of 7,595 on Friday.

The Dow was also in the green this week, closing up 382 points to finish the week at 51,032. This was a 0.76 percent increase over the past several days for an index that is up almost 1,800 points over the past month and up about 21 percent over the past 12 months. This week, the index made a low of 50,367 on Tuesday and a high of 51,068 late on Friday.

Finally, the Nasdaq was up 2 percent this week to close at 26,972. That was an increase of about 531 points for the index that has continued to achieve the highest rates of return for investors of the three major markets. Over the past 12 months, the Nasdaq is up over 40 percent. This week, the Nasdaq made a low of 26,548 on Tuesday and a high of 27,084 on Friday.

In international news, Australia reported on Tuesday that inflation was up 0.4 percent over the last month, which translated to 4.2 percent on an annualized basis. Also on Tuesday, New Zealand announced that it would hold its key interest rate at 2.25 percent. On Thursday night, Japan announced that its inflation rate was 1.3 percent on an annualized basis.

For the coming week, we can expect the jobs reports to be released on Wednesday and Friday. In addition, the ISM Services and ISM Manufacturing PMI reports will come out, as well as the JOLTS labor report. Central bank governors from most major economies are also expected to speak throughout the week, which could give some insight into which direction the Fed might take on monetary policy in the United States.