The U.S. economy continued to crank out jobs in March. The Labor Department reported nonfarm payrolls increased by 215,000 last month, while average hourly earnings increased 0.3%, or $0.07, and the unemployment rate rose to 5.0% last month from 4.9% in February.
Markus Schomer, chief economist at PineBridge Investment, explains to Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Christoforous in the video above that the slight uptick in the jobless rate is encouraging news for the labor market because it means that people are coming back to the labor force.
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Tesla (TSLA) shares soared in early trading after the luxury carmaker unveiled its new Model 3 sedan, which — with a price tag of $35,000 — is designed to appeal to the mainstream consumer. More than 130,000 people across the globe preordered the car, even thought it won’t be delivered for a year.
Starwood Hotels (HOT) shares fell following news that China’s Anbang withdrew its $14 billion bid to buy the U.S. hotel operator. The surprise move clears the way for rival suitor Marriott (MAR) to buy the owner of Sheraton and Westin hotels.
BlackBerry (BBRY) reported a narrower-than-expected loss for its holiday quarter, but it missed big on revenue, with sales falling almost 30% from a year ago due to weak demand for its Priv phone, as well as restructuring and acquisition-related costs. However, the company's software and services revenue more than doubled — to $153 million — year-over-year.
Auto Sales
Ford’s (F) March sales jumped 7.8%, its best March results in a decade. Meanwhile, Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) posted an 8.1% rise in March sales, and GM (GM) came in last, with a 0.9% sales increase last month. However, monthly sales figures from all three automakers were lower than analysts expected.