NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes were mixed on Thursday in choppy trading but were headed for weekly gains, while a softer-than-expected employment report for June tempered expectations of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
US markets are closed on Friday for the Independence Day holiday. The Dow was on track for its fourth consecutive weekly gain, its longest such streak since October 2024, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were also poised to mark weekly wins.
The closely watched nonfarm payrolls report showed the US economy added 57,000 jobs last month, compared with economists’ estimates for a rise of 110,000. The unemployment rate was 4.2percent, in line with expectations of 4.3percent. The report interrupted a run of strong job gains recently and could potentially make the Federal Reserve more reluctant to raise borrowing costs.
Odds of at least one rate hike this year stood at 76percent, according to data compiled by LSEG, compared with around 84percent before the payrolls report. “It’s a beautiful number. It’s the best number we could hope for.
It says that the job market is doing fine, but it’s not hot enough to accelerate inflation,” said Florian Ielpo, head of macro at Lombard Odier Investment Managers. At 11:49 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 378.14 points, or 0.72percent, to 52,683.38, the S&P 500 lost 4.26 points, or 0.06percent, to 7,478.97 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 159.27 points, or 0.61percent, to 25,880.76.
Markets had been concerned that stronger labor market data could give the Fed more room to focus squarely on price pressures, especially after an oil shock stemming from the US-Iran war raised inflation concerns. This report, however, may push policymakers to pay closer attention to the employment side of their mandate, according to eToro ?US investment analyst ?Bret Kenwell. “The new-look Fed has been talking tough on inflation, and a stronger labor market would have only raised the temperature. Today’s report doesn’t scream labor-market trouble, but it does cool the narrative a bit,” he said.
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