Why Wall Street is so happy to see the job market slowing down

• Stocks soared Friday after a light April jobs report gave investors hope of a rate cut sooner than later.
• Expectations have been pushed out in recent weeks following a series of hot economic data.
• The US economy added 175,000 jobs last month, below expectations of 238,000.

US stocks soared Friday after a light April jobs report sent bond yields tumbling and increased the chances of an interest-rate cut from the Federal Reserve later this year.

The US economy added 175,000 jobs in April, well below economists' forecast of 238,000 jobs and far short of the 303,000 added in March. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked higher, to 3.9% from 3.8%.

The light jobs report should give the Fed more flexibility in speeding up the timing of rate cuts, and bond yields fell significantly with that sentiment in mind. The 10-year Treasury note dropped 10 basis points to 4.48%.

Investors have been closely watching economic data — and the Fed's reaction to it — for signs of when the central bank will lower interest rates. In recent weeks, expectations for cuts have been pushed out as data has come in hot. The market is in a situation where negative economic news is positive for risk assets such as stocks.

"The April jobs report was just what the market ordered," Russell Price, the chief economist at Ameriprise, wrote in a client note. "Job growth was solid and well distributed, but the pace eased considerably relative to the first quarter's surprisingly strong gains."

Friday's jobs report was the "first material 'downside surprise' in over two years," Key Wealth's chief investment officer, George Mateyo, added in comments to Business Insider. "Yet the weakness was not so weak to suggest that the labor market is rolling over. It was a slowdown that the Fed and many market participants have been wanting for some time."

Also helping boost stocks Friday was Apple, which surged about 7% after it reported a better-than-feared second-quarter earnings report. The iPhone maker also launched a historic $110 billion stock-buyback program and increased its quarterly dividend by 4%, which was cheered by investors.

Here's where US indexes stood at 10:30 a.m. on Friday:

• S&P 500: 5,109.27, up 0.9%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 38,576.90, up 0.9% (352 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 16,098.73, up 1.6%

Here's what else was going on Friday:

• Here's a breakdown of Apple's second-quarter earnings report and comments from the company's earnings call.
• The stock market's bull run will end in either a bubble or a recession, the Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett said.
• Apple's $110 billion stock-buyback program is worth more than the total value of companies including Boeing, Chipotle, and Airbnb.
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen voiced concerns to Congress about the difficulty of buying a starter home in America.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 0.08% to $78.89 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 0.11% to $83.76 a barrel.
• Gold edged higher by 0.06% to $2,311.20 an ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield fell 10 basis points to 4.48%.
• Bitcoin jumped 3.49% to $61,148.