US stocks jump as markets brace for May jobs report and debt ceiling bill nears finish line

• US stocks rose Thursday as markets await important labor data and eye debt ceiling progress.
• The Labor Department will release the May employment report on Friday morning.

US stocks rose on Thursday as the debit limit deal advanced in Congress while investors look ahead to key labor data.

Bipartisan legislation was passed in the House late Wednesday and is now moving to the Senate, easing worries of a destabilizing US default.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department will release the May payroll report on Friday, one of the last major pieces of data before the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting on June 13-14.

On Thursday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in a blog post that current interest rates are likely not sufficient to bring down US inflation.

That hawkish remark came after Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said on Wednesday that he feels inclined to "skip" another rate hike.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 4,221.03, up 0.99%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,061.57, up 0.47% (153.30 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 13,100.98, up 1.28%

Elsewhere, bitcoin finished May with its first monthly loss of 2023 as traders navigate a murky macro environment.

"When there is fear sentiment in the market, investors tend to flock to safer assets, such as gold and government bonds," Brigham Santos, COO of blockchain financial services provider Lama, told Insider. "This can lead to a sell-off in riskier assets, including bitcoin. In addition, central bank tightening can also lead to a decline in bitcoin prices."

He added: "This could work as a domino effect by generating higher interest rates, which can make it harder to borrow money to invest back [into] bitcoin."

Here's what else is going on:

• Nvidia stock could soar another 26%, according to Bank of America.
• Short sellers have lost more than $13 billion betting against these 5 AI-related stocks in 2023.
• Investors should be paying attention to these three tech stocks, according to an Evercore strategist.
• Elon Musk said he's against the US and China cutting their economic ties.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• Oil prices jumped, with West Texas Intermediate up 2.9% to $70.05 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 2.25% to $74.24 a barrel
• Gold edged 0.7% higher to $1,995 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield ticked down 3 basis points to 3.605%.
• Bitcoin declined 0.7% to $26,862.