An historic day on Wall Street was ignited by another gain in new job creation, coupled with a decline in the jobless rate. The news sent the Dow Industrials through a key psychological milestone of 17,000 and inspired record highs for both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite in the abbreviated session. The gains swept through all sectors, with the exception of utilities, health care and telecoms. Industrials put in the best performance as Wall Street cheered the combination of an above-consensus gain in payrolls seen not strong enough to alter Federal Reserve monetary policy.
U.S. markets are closed Friday for Independence Day.
Jobs, Jobs And More Jobs
Non-farm payrolls rose 288,000 in June, beating estimates for a 211,000 increase and followed an upward revision to April and May to 304,000 and 224,000, respectively. The result dropped the jobless rate to 6.1% from 6.3% the month prior.
In addition to the employment data, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to 5.6% $44.4 billion, beating estimates for a $45.1 billion deficit.
Lost in the excitement of the payroll report was a 2,000 gain in initial jobless claims to 315,000 new claims, slightly above the 314,000 new claims expected.
In the services sector, the Institute for Supply Management non-manufacturing index fell to 56.0 in June from 56.3 prior, while the Purchasing Manager's final index for the services sector was revised to 61.0 from 58.1 in May.
European markets shared in Wall Street's good fortune, closing higher across the continent. Interest rates took center stage in Europe after the European Central Bank left rates unchanged but opened the door for further rate cuts, while the Swedes cut their key lending rates by a greater-than-expected 50 basis points.
Commodities
Crude Oil was down $0.71 to $103.77 per barrel. Natural Gas was up $0.01 to $4.36 per 1 million BTU. Gold was down $10.50 to $1,320.10 an ounce while Silver was down $0.13 to $21.17 an ounce. Copper was up $0.01 to $3.28 per pound.
Among energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO) was down 0.37% to $38.27 with the US Natural Gas Fund (ARCA:UNG) was up 0.15% to $24.04. Amongst precious-metal funds, the Market Vectors Gold Miners (ARCA:GDX) ETF was down 0.29% to 26.42 while SPDR Gold Trust (ARCA:GLD) was down 0.49% to $127.09. The iShares Silver Trust (ARCA:SLV) was down 0.07% to $20.29.
Here's Where The Markets Stood At The Close
- The S&P 500 up 10.82 (+0.6%) at 1,985
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average up 92.02 (+0.5%) at 17,068
- The NASDAQ Composite up 28 points (+0.6%) at 4,485
UPSIDE MOVERS
- (+) DRL Continues Wednesday's advance after ruling on Puerto Rican tax payment
- (+) PETM Jana Partners Discloses 9.9% stake, seeks review of strategic alternatives
- (+) ONE Seeking Alpha blog called the stock a buying opportunity
- (+) VRS Plan to exchange debt as part of NewPage acquisition
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
- (-) RGDO Announces unplanned review of data with focus on serious allergic reaction
- (-) SNX Mixed Q3 guidance spoils upbeat Q2 results
- (-) TKMR, RKM.TO Ebola study put on hold by FDA amid concerns over volunteer subjects
After Hours Stock News From Midnight Trader.
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