U.S. Stocks Rally on Strong Jobs Data, Nasdaq Surges Over 200 Points
The Nasdaq jumped 207.97 points (1%) to 20,601.10, the S&P 500 advanced 51.93 points (0.8%) to 6,279.35 and the Dow climbed 344.11 points (0.7%) to 44,828.53.
U.S. non-farm payrolls rose by 147,000 in June, beating expectations, while unemployment fell to 4.1%. This surprised markets, which had expected a rise to 4.3%. Traders reacted positively, though the strong data may delay Fed rate cuts.
Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist at LPL Financial, stated that continued payroll expansion allows the Fed to remain in "wait and see" mode at the upcoming policy meeting. He noted that despite uncertainty around tariffs and trade, businesses havent been deterred from retaining workers. However, he cautioned that ongoing trade negotiations could still bring unknown business impacts.
Positive sentiment may also have been generated in reaction to a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing the service sector returned to growth in the month of June. The ISM said its services PMI rose to 50.8 in June from 49.9 in May, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 50.5.
Networking stocks turned in some of the market's best performances, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index surging by 2.3% to a record closing high. Software stocks were considerably strong, as reflected by the 1.9% gain posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index. Banking, retail and airline stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while housing stocks showed a significant move back to the downside.
Asia-Pacific stocks turned in a mixed performance. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index inched up by 0.1% and China's Shanghai Composite Index edged up by 0.2%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.6%. The major European have all moved to the upside on the day while the French CAC 40 Index crept up by 0.6%, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both climbed by 0.6%.
In the bond market, treasuries have seen continued weakness in reaction to the stronger than expected jobs data. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, has advanced 5.5 bps to 4.34%.
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