US stocks rise to records after a solid jobs report overshadows higher oil prices

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market rose to records Friday following the latest sign that the nation’s job market is doing better than economists expected.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to an all-time high after a report said U.S. employers added 115,000 more jobs than they cut last month, even though the war with Iran is raising fuel costs and uncertainty for everyone. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by 12 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.7% to its own record.

While hiring slowed from March’s level, it was still nearly double what economists expected. And it helped the S&P 500 close out a sixth straight winning week, its longest such streak since 2024. The U.S. stock market has been blasting higher since late March, in part on hopes that the war will not mean a worst-case scenario for the global economy and that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen to allow oil tankers to deliver crude from the Persian Gulf again.

It’s still to be determined if those hopes are warranted or just wishful. U.S. forces fired on and disabled two Iranian oil tankers on Friday after exchanging fire with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz overnight. It’s the latest flare-up in fighting to raise doubts about the tenuous month-old ceasefire that the United States has insisted is still in effect.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil rose 1.2% to settle at $101.29 following the latest volleys of fire. That’s below its heights above $119 during the war, but it’s still much more expensive than its roughly $70 level from late February before the fighting began.

One big factor helping to support the U.S. stock market despite the war’s uncertainties is the strong profits that companies have been reporting for the start of 2026.

Monster Beverage jumped 13.6% after the energy drink maker joined the parade of companies topping analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue for the latest quarter. It benefited from strong growth outside the United States, and total net sales from there made up about 45% of its total, the highest percentage ever for the company.

Akamai Technologies leaped even more, 26.6%, after its results squeaked past expectations. It announced a $1.8 billion deal to provide cloud infrastructure services to an unnamed client over seven years. The cybersecurity and cloud computing company is benefiting from the surge in investment in artificial-intelligence technology.

Voracious demand for AI helped CoreWeave report revenue for the latest quarter that was more than double what it was a year earlier, but its net loss was worse than analysts expected. It also gave a forecasted range for revenue in the current quarter whose midpoint fell below analysts’ expectations. The stock of the company, which offers AI computing power to customers over the cloud, fell 11.4%.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 61.82 points to 7,398.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 12.19 to 49,609.16, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 440.88 to 26,247.08.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe and Asia. Germany’s DAX lost 1.3%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.9% for two of the bigger losses.

South Korea’s Kospi was an exception, and it inched up 0.1% to another all-time high.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased and remained lower after a preliminary report suggested sentiment among U.S. consumers is stuck near its lowest level since 2022. Consumers told the survey from the University of Michigan they’re concerned about both high gasoline prices and tariffs, though their expectations for inflation in the coming year softened by a bit.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.36% from 4.41% late Thursday and from 4.45% early this week.

Lower yields can bring down rates for mortgages and other kinds of loans going to U.S. households and businesses, which in turn can give the economy a boost. Lower yields also tend to push upward on prices for stocks and other kinds of investments.

The 10-year Treasury yield, though, remains well above its 3.97% level from just before the war.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

Options trader Justin Kanda works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A dealer walks past near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

The screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won are displayed at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer walks past near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer watches computer monitors at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — As soon as he swung the bat, Ty France believed he had hit a two-run homer to put the San Diego Padres ahead in the ninth inning of their NL Division Series opener against Milwaukee.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy figured France’s drive was heading foul instead.

Neither was correct.

In one of the most bizarre plays in American Family Field’s 25-year history, France hit a towering flyball that seemed as though it might be headed over the left-field wall until it struck a cable on the roof of the stadium. The ball then fell into the glove of Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio on the warning track for the second out of the inning.

One out later, the Brewers had secured a 3-2 victory Saturday night to take the early lead in this best-of-five series.

“We joked about it at the umpire meeting today about what would happen if the ball hit the roof,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “And it was unlikely — but it happened.”

How unlikely?

“It’s the first time I’ve seen that in four years here,” said Brewers closer Trevor Megill, who gave up the long drive. “I had no idea what the ruling was until the home plate umpire came up and told me it’s a live ball, no matter what.”

Under the stadium’s ground rules, any batted ball striking the roof or one of its cables in fair territory is a fair ball that can be caught for an out. The Padres unsuccessfully challenged that France’s drive was a foul ball.

“Unfortunately, a bad break for us. Looked like it was a possible home run. Just didn’t go our way,” Stammen said.

The game-changing play came with Dustin Harris on first base following a leadoff single. France’s drive left his bat at 105.3 mph with a 49-degree launch angle, and it was caught 325 feet from home plate.

Megill was asked after the game what he thought once France connected.

“Oh, crap,” Megill said. “I’ll keep it PG for you.”

There has never been a home run at American Family Field with a launch angle greater than 46 degrees since Statcast tracking started in 2015. And there have only been 10 homers hit over the fence at any major league ballpark during that period with a launch angle of 49 degrees or higher.

France, however, had no doubt the ball would have cleared the left-field wall if it hadn’t hit the cable.

“The biggest question was, was it going to stay fair or foul,” France said. “I thought I back-spun it, and it was going to stay fair. I knew it was going out. It was just unfortunate.”

Murphy disagreed.

“It was going to be a foul ball, for sure. I’m standing right on that line,” he said. “A hitter that talented, they would have liked to have that hitter back up there with another strike.”

Instead, Chourio was in the right place at the right time as the ball landed harmlessly in his glove.

“I wasn’t all that sure of what the rule was, and I wasn’t really all that sure that it actually did hit anything,” Chourio said through interpreter Daniel de Mondesert. “I thought I had a chance on that ball kind of the whole time off the bat. Then the only thing I kind of realized (is) it changed direction a little bit, but I thought I had a bead on it for the majority of the time.”

Megill then completed his four-out save by retiring Jackson Merrill on a liner to right fielder Luis Lara.

It wasn’t the first time the American Family Field roof played a role in a Brewers playoff game. Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell caught a high pop fly from Philadelphia’s Jayson Werth that hit the roof during the 2008 NL Division Series.

Remarkably, it also wasn’t the first time this season the Padres lost a potential home run to a stadium’s unique ground rules.

Xander Bogaerts had a potential homer taken away at Tampa Bay’s Tropicana Field on Aug. 28 when his drive struck the stadium’s B-ring catwalk and was caught by Rays third baseman Junior Caminero. Bogaerts’ drive had been projected by Statcast to go 386 feet.

The fact that those types of projected distances are available had France wondering if something can be done to avoid these sort of circumstances in the future.

If it’s apparent the ball would have been a homer if it hadn’t hit the roof, why not just call it a homer?

“You would think with all the technology and data and everything we have now, we’d be able to make a clear call on that,” France said. “I don’t know if that’s ever been done before, but yeah, there should be something put in place right there. That shouldn’t be an out.”

France didn’t get his homer. He just got a natural topic of conversation the next time he and Megill cross paths. The two have a history together from shared Southern California backgrounds.

“Him and I go way back,” France said. “We played on the same high school scout ball team, so I’ve known him for a long time.”

While the Padres could blame their loss on a cruel twist of fate, Murphy believed he knew exactly who to thank for this improbable finish. He thought of longtime broadcaster Bob Uecker, who remains the most beloved figure in Brewers history less than two years after dying at age 90.

“Ueck decided to put his hand on it and swat it down so Chourio could catch it,” Murphy said. “So thanks, Ueck.”

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

San Diego Padres' Ty France talks to Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras about hitting a cable near the roof during the ninth inning of Game 1 of a National League Divisional baseball playoff series Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

San Diego Padres' Ty France hits a ball that hit a cable near the roof during the ninth inning of Game 1 of a National League Divisional baseball playoff series against the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Milwaukee Brewers' Jackson Chourio catches a ball hit by San Diego Padres' Ty France after the ball hit a cable near the roof during the ninth inning in Game 1 of a National League Divisional baseball playoff series Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

San Diego Padres' Ty France reacts after being called out during the ninth inning in Game 1 of a National League Divisional baseball playoff series against the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

San Diego Padres' Ty France watches his ball hit a cable near the roof of American Family Field during the ninth inning of Game 1 of a National League Divisional baseball playoff series Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)