Stronger jobs data and chip tie-ups coincide with a 2.45% QQQ jump

QQQ rose 2.45% and SPY gained 0.85%, leaving QQQ ahead by 1.60 percentage points. April payrolls increased by 115,000 versus a 62,000 forecast, while unemployment held at 4.3%. The preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading was 48.2. Iran-related updates ranged from U.S. airstrikes and clashes near Hormuz to Iran reviewing a U.S. proposal to end the war. Apple and Intel reached a preliminary chip-making agreement. Overnight, the Fed financial stability report highlighted geopolitical, oil and AI-financing risks, while Anthropic signed a seven-year, $1.8 billion Akamai cloud agreement.