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Perth Now
27 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Wall Street edges down on surprise US jobs data
US stocks have nudged lower as surprisingly weak US private jobs data raised concerns about the labour market, while investors closely watched trade negotiations as President Donald Trump's July 9 tariff deadline approaches. The ADP National Employment Report showed US private payrolls fell unexpectedly in June and job gains in the prior month were smaller than initially thought. Investors quickly increased their bets of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve in July to 25.3 per cent from about 20 per cent prior to the report, according to LSEG data. "I take it as a mixed bag. On one hand, the wage is still strong, which is terribly important to the US economy. On the downside, if this isn't seasonality, this is the beginning of a long-term trend in white collar jobs that'll spill over into the total labour market," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird. "It would be very damaging for the overall economy and obviously make the Federal Reserve react despite their concerns about tariffs causing inflation." The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed lower in the previous session, retreating from record highs as technology stocks were pressured and Treasury yields climbed after data showed stronger-than-expected job openings in May. Focus now turns to the more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report, scheduled for release on Thursday - a day earlier than usual, as markets are closed on Friday for Independence Day. The reading is expected to show US job growth cooled in June and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3 per cent, according to a Reuters poll of economists. On trade, Trump said on Tuesday he was not thinking of extending the July 9 deadline for imposing tariffs and expressed doubts that an agreement could be reached with Japan, although he said he expected a deal with India. The European Union's trade chief is expected to hold talks this week with peers in Washington DC. In early trading on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 75.68 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 44,419.26, the S&P 500 lost 0.92 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 6,197.09, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 43.60 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 20,246.49. Meanwhile, the blue-chip Dow was within 1.4 per cent of hitting an all-time high. US Senate Republicans passed Trump's massive tax-and-spending bill on Tuesday by the narrowest of margins, advancing a package that would slash taxes, reduce social safety net programs and boost military and immigration enforcement spending while adding $US3.3 trillion ($A5 trillion) to the country's debt. The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives for possible final approval, although a handful of Republicans have already opposed some of the Senate provisions. Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors nursed losses, with healthcare falling about 0.7 per cent, leading declines. Centene tumbled 33.7 per cent, set for its worst day on record if losses hold, after the health insurer said it had withdrawn its 2025 earnings forecast following data that showed a significant drop in expected revenue from its marketplace health insurance plans. Shares of peers including Elevance Health dropped 7.0 per cent, Molina Healthcare sank 15 per cent and UnitedHealth lost 2.0 per cent. Adding to the strain on equities, the US 10-year benchmark yield rose 4 basis points, extending its climb from the previous session. However, megacaps such as Tesla and Apple helped limit the overall losses and rose more than 2.4 per cent each. Tesla posted another big drop in quarterly deliveries, putting it on course for its second straight annual sales decline as demand falters due to backlash over CEO Elon Musk's political stance and an aging vehicle line-up. Verint Systems rose 5.0 per cent after Bloomberg News reported buyout firm Thoma Bravo was in talks to acquire the call-centre software maker. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.12-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.1-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and two new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 20 new highs and 25 new lows.
ABC News
30 minutes ago
- ABC News
Has the US busted Iran's nuclear bomb plans?
The chaotic 12 days of the Israel-Iran war ended with the United States dropping bombs on Iran's nuclear facilities, then quickly brokering a ceasefire. But there are still many questions about the conflict: Has Iran really been mere months away from building a bomb for the last fifteen years, as Israel claims? Did the US's strikes bust all plans for an Iranian nuke? And what does an American bowling alley company have to do with Tehran's nuclear program? That's this week on If You're Listening. Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube:
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Giant Trump tax bill faces make-or-break vote in Congress
Donald Trump is seeking final approval Wednesday in the US Congress for his marquee tax and spending bill, with Republicans pinning their hopes on a narrow victory that will help seal the president's legacy. The party's senators passed the sprawling package by a tie-breaking vote Tuesday after a bruising 27 hours of infighting over provisions set to balloon the national debt while launching a historic assault on the social safety net. It was originally approved by the House of Representatives in May but must return for a rubber stamp of the Senate's revisions -- and success is far from guaranteed. House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing down rebels on all sides of his fractious party, and the voting timetable has been thrown into doubt by thunderstorms in Washington that are threatening attendance. "This bill is President Trump's agenda, and we are making it law," Johnson said in a statement, projecting confidence that Republicans were "ready to finish the job." The package honors many of Trump's campaign promises, boosting military spending, funding a mass migrant deportation drive and committing $4.5 trillion to extend his first-term tax relief. But it is estimated to pile an extra $3.4 trillion over a decade onto the country's ballooning debt, while forcing through the largest cuts to the Medicaid health insurance program since its 1960s launch. Fiscal hawks in the House, meanwhile, are chafing over spending cuts that they say fall short of what they were promised by hundreds of billions of dollars. Johnson has to negotiate incredibly tight margins, and can likely only lose three lawmakers among more than two dozen who have declared themselves open to rejecting the bill. - Canceled flights - Lawmakers were aiming to return from recess Wednesday morning to begin voting, although they have a cushion of two days before Trump's self-imposed July 4 deadline. But severe weather prompted the cancelation of more than 300 flights into Reagan National Airport in the 24 hours before Congress gaveled in, according to the flight-tracking service FlightAware. Several lawmakers booked alternative flights or embarked on long road journeys to the US capital, but Johnson has warned that travel issues could still push back the vote to Thursday. The 887-page text only passed in the Senate after a flurry of tweaks that pulled the House-passed text further to the right. Republicans lost one conservative who was angry about adding to the country's $37 trillion debt burden and two moderates worried about almost $1 trillion in health care cuts. Some estimates put the total number of recipients set to lose their health insurance at 17 million, while scores of rural hospitals are expected to close. Meanwhile changes to federal nutrition assistance are set to strip millions of the poorest Americans of their access to the program. Republicans Chip Roy and Ralph Norman -- angry over provisions adding to the deficit and softening of cuts to clean energy tax credits -- voted against the bill as it narrowly passed the powerful Rules Committee overnight. Johnson will be banking on Trump leaning on waverers, as he has in the past to turn around contentious House votes that were headed for failure. Desperate for what might end up being the only landmark legislative achievement of his second term, the president has spent weeks cajoling Republicans torn between angering welfare recipients at home and incurring his wrath. The president pressured House Republicans to get the bill over the line in a post on his Truth Social platform Wednesday that set out what he saw as the sky-high stakes. "Our Country will make a fortune this year, more than any of our competitors, but only if the Big, Beautiful Bill is PASSED!" he said. House Democrats have signaled that they plan to campaign on the bill to flip the chamber in the 2026 midterms, pointing to analyses showing that it represents a historic redistribution of wealth from the poorest Americans to the richest.
