U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hitting fresh record highs, after a better-than-expected jobs report fueled optimism the U.S. economy was hanging tough despite fast-changing trade policy and geopolitics.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 344.11 points, or 0.77%, settling at 44,828.53. The S&P 500 added 0.83% to close at 6,279.35, while the Nasdaq gained 1.02% and ended at 20,601.10. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also closed at records.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 147,000 in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. That’s above the Dow Jones forecast from economists for 110,000 and the upwardly revised 144,000 in May. The unemployment rate also fell to 4.1%, while economists had projected an increase to 4.3%.
The strong jobs report also spurred a spike in Treasury yields and reduced expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates soon. Fed funds futures traders are currently pricing in a roughly 95% chance that the central bank will hold rates steady at its meeting later this month, per CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
“The biggest implication from the employment report would seem to be there’s no way the Fed’s cutting rates in July, and it’s a question mark as to whether rates are cut at all this year,” Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, said in an interview with CNBC.
Thursday’s report comes a day after ADP released data showing that private payrolls decreased by 33,000 last month, raising fears that perhaps the economy was starting to stumble under the weight of rapid policy changes out of Washington. Thursday’s official government data knocked down that notion.
Meanwhile, after President Donald Trump announced the U.S.-Vietnam trade agreement Wednesday, investors eagerly awaited any potential future deal announcements as the president’s early July deadline on his 90-day tariff pause approaches next week. While the market trading at all-time high levels leaves it open to downside, especially if Trump chooses to be “really tough” in negotiations, Ellerbroek believes the market is ultimately taking a more optimistic view.
“We will see a real tariff impact for a lot of businesses, but the market is going to digest that without too much trouble,” he also said.
Investors are also following along the progress on Trump’s tax megabill, which finally passed the Senate Tuesday and has since returned to the House. The bill is now headed for a final vote after the Republican-controlled House advanced the legislation Thursday.
Thursday was a shortened trading session, with the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq closing at 1 p.m. ET. U.S. markets are closed on Friday for Independence Day.
All three major U.S. averages closed out the week in positive territory. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 1.7% and 1.6% week to date, respectively, while the Dow posted a 2.3% gain for the period.
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