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Wall Street closed higher on Friday as a slowdown in hiring in June raised expectations of a Fed rate cut soon. The S&P 500, the Dow and the Nasdaq ended the last trading session in the green. For the week, these three major stock indexes closed in the positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.2% or 67.87 points to close at 39,375.87. Notably, 19 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while 11 ended in negative zone.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 164.46 points, or 0.9%, to close at 18,352.76.
The S&P 500 advanced 30.17 points, or 0.5%, to close at 5,567.19. Eight of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the green. The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC), the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP), and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) rose 1.9%, 1.2%, and 0.8%, respectively.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 1.8% to 12.48. A total of 9.73 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.57 billion.The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and eight new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 46 new highs and 162 new lows.
U.S. Labor Market Signals Cooling, Fuels Fed Rate Cut Speculation
The recent report from the Labor Department, which came out on Friday, showed an uptick in unemployment and a slowdown in job creation, contradicting earlier expectations of a robust economic outlook.
Federal Reserve officials had previously shown confidence in the progress of inflation and the economy's resilience. They had hinted at considering one interest rate cut in 2024. However, recent economic signals have not aligned with these expectations.
According to the Labor Department's report on Friday, nonfarm payrolls rose by 206,000 in June, while the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1%. The figures for May were revised down to 218,000 from the reported 272,000. In May, the unemployment rate was at 4%.
In June, average hourly earnings increased by 0.3% compared to May's figure, which was unrevised at 0.4%. The average workweek stayed consistent at 34.3 hours.
Following this report, traders using CME’s FedWatch tool now predict a 78% chance that the central bank will choose to lower interest rates in September and again by December.
Weekly Roundup
During the week, the Nasdaq Composite advanced 3.5%, the S&P 500 climbed nearly 2% and the Dow added 0.7%.
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Stock Market News for July 8, 2024
Market News
Wall Street closed higher on Friday as a slowdown in hiring in June raised expectations of a Fed rate cut soon. The S&P 500, the Dow and the Nasdaq ended the last trading session in the green. For the week, these three major stock indexes closed in the positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.2% or 67.87 points to close at 39,375.87. Notably, 19 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while 11 ended in negative zone.
The major gainer of the Dow was Walmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) . The stock price of this retailer rose 2.6%. Walmart currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 164.46 points, or 0.9%, to close at 18,352.76.
The S&P 500 advanced 30.17 points, or 0.5%, to close at 5,567.19. Eight of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the green. The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC), the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP), and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) rose 1.9%, 1.2%, and 0.8%, respectively.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 1.8% to 12.48. A total of 9.73 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.57 billion.The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and eight new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 46 new highs and 162 new lows.
U.S. Labor Market Signals Cooling, Fuels Fed Rate Cut Speculation
The recent report from the Labor Department, which came out on Friday, showed an uptick in unemployment and a slowdown in job creation, contradicting earlier expectations of a robust economic outlook.
Federal Reserve officials had previously shown confidence in the progress of inflation and the economy's resilience. They had hinted at considering one interest rate cut in 2024. However, recent economic signals have not aligned with these expectations.
According to the Labor Department's report on Friday, nonfarm payrolls rose by 206,000 in June, while the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1%. The figures for May were revised down to 218,000 from the reported 272,000. In May, the unemployment rate was at 4%.
In June, average hourly earnings increased by 0.3% compared to May's figure, which was unrevised at 0.4%. The average workweek stayed consistent at 34.3 hours.
Following this report, traders using CME’s FedWatch tool now predict a 78% chance that the central bank will choose to lower interest rates in September and again by December.
Weekly Roundup
During the week, the Nasdaq Composite advanced 3.5%, the S&P 500 climbed nearly 2% and the Dow added 0.7%.