U.S. stocks remained at record highs on Friday as investors eyed the June jobs report, which will play a role in calculating interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell just below the flatline shortly after the report, after hitting a record close in a shortened session on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.3%. All three gauges were closed Thursday in observance of the July 4 holiday.
The U.S. economy added 206,000 jobs in June, more than the 190,000 Wall Street had expected. But the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose slightly to 4.1%, the highest level since November 2021, in another sign that the labor market continues to cool.
Signs of looser conditions in labor data earlier this week bolstered the view that inflation will continue to ease, giving the Fed a chance to cut interest rates from their current two-decade highs. Traders are now pricing in a 75% chance of a cut in September, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
The 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) fell slightly to 4.31% in morning trading, continuing its weekly decline.
Investors are agonizing over Friday’s employment numbers, wondering whether the slowing monthly job growth is a sign of a normalizing labor market now that the pandemic is behind us, or the first signs of a broader economic slowdown.
Elsewhere, the Labour Party’s landslide victory in the UK general election has caught the attention of investors monitoring political risk, particularly as the US presidential election approaches. With some major donors urging President Joe Biden to step aside, all eyes are on Donald Trump’s growing lead in the polls and what that could mean for markets.
On the business front, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) saw its quarterly profit rise to 15 times its year-ago level, pushing the stock to its highest level in three years, helped by the AI boom.
Crypto-linked stocks Coinbase Global (COIN) lost 4% and Marathon Digital (MARA) about 6% in morning trading, as bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell to its lowest level against the dollar since February.
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Stock Trends in Morning Trading
Here are some of the stocks topping Yahoo Finance’s trending tickers page during morning trading on Friday.
Tesla (TSLA): Tesla shares fell slightly after investors pushed the EV maker up nearly 25% in the past week after the company reported vehicle deliveries that beat Wall Street expectations. More broadly, investors are banking on a positive quarterly report later this month and a robotaxi unveiled in early August that analysts are optimistic will be the next phase of the Tesla story. Shares were down less than 1% in morning trading.
Coinbase (COIN): The crypto market is reeling, dragging related companies down with it. The digital asset exchange fell 5%, reflecting falling prices of bitcoin (BTC-USD), the most popular cryptocurrency and largest by market capitalization. Bitcoin fell to its lowest point against the dollar since February. Cryptominer Marathon (MARA) fell 7%, and online broker Robinhood (HOOD) fell 4%.
Macy’s (M): Shares of the troubled department store chain jumped nearly 10% Friday morning after a report that an investor group has proposed buying it for a second time, with the latest bid being $300 million higher than the previous one.
Samsung Electronics (005930.KS): The manufacturing conglomerate rose 3% Friday morning after the company reported quarterly profit that jumped 15 times from a year ago, pushing its stock to a three-year high, helped by the AI boom.
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