Dow jumps nearly 500 points after softer-than-expected jobs report fuels hopes of an earlier rate cut

US stocks soared higher Friday morning after new data showed that US job growth slowed considerably last month.

The blue-chip Dow was higher by 488 points, or 1.2%; the S&P 500 was up 1.1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.8%.

The economy added just 175,000 new jobs in April, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, far below economists’ expectations for 235,000 jobs and the 315,000 jobs added in March. The unemployment rate ticked higher as well, to 3.9% from 3.8% the month before.