US stock market today: Dow falls over 100 points while Nasdaq up 0.3%; investors cautious ahead of US job data
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 111 points, or 0.25%, reaching 44,383.86.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
S&P 500 rose a marginal 1.79 points or 0.33%, trading at 6,199.80. Tech-heavy Nasdaq also reached 20,270.24, rising 67.35 points or 0.33%.
The jitters come after data released from ADP showed an unexpected fall in private-sector employment last month. Employers outside the government reportedly cut 33,000 jobs, a stark contrast to economists' forecasts of a 115,000-job gain.
'Though layoffs continue to be rare, a hesitancy to hire and a reluctance to replace departing workers led to job losses last month,' said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP.
Many of the planned tariffs, a key part of Trump's trade strategy, remain on hold but are expected to take effect within a week. Their potential to disrupt supply chains and drive up prices has left businesses wary, possibly leading to hiring freezes or slowdowns.
Adding to the drag, the US government's recent termination of temporary protected status for roughly 350,000 Venezuelans could knock up to 25,000 jobs off the payroll, according to Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle.
Bond markets reflected the mixed mood. The 10-year Treasury yield nudged up to 4.29% from 4.26%, while the more Fed-sensitive two-year yield dipped slightly to 3.77%.
A weaker-than-expected jobs report could prompt the Federal Reserve to consider cutting interest rates sooner than planned. But so far, the Fed has signalled a wait-and-watch approach, preferring to assess the impact of Trump's tariff strategy before adjusting monetary policy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
Trump's tariff threat, China's retaliation leave Apple stuck between a rock and a hard place
First, Apple faced President Donald Trump's threat to slap tariffs on its products manufactured outside the US. And now, China, sensing an opportunity, is moving fast to stymie the iPhone maker's India plans. Foxconn, Apple's largest supplier, has quietly pulled Chinese engineers and technicians from its Indian plants. Over 300 Chinese workers have left Foxconn's iPhone assembly facilities in India in the past two months. Not just the workforce, Beijing is also curbing technology transfers and tightening controls on equipment exports to India and Southeast Asia, Apple's key hubs outside China, Bloomberg reported. This is to protect China's long-term interests in case tariffs come knocking from the West. What this means for Apple Foxconn's move will hurt Apple as it gears up to make the iPhone 17. India already accounts for 20% of global iPhone output and was hoping to scale further. Trump had aimed the tariff gun at India's Southeast Asian peers, and the country was hoping to pick up the slack. This is also significant, as data showed that nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn from India went to the US between March and May, far above the 2024 average of 50% and a clear sign of Apple's efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. But Vietnam, another key Apple manufacturer, has moved faster and struck a deal with Washington that allows duty-free American imports and caps tariffs on Vietnamese goods at 20%, far below Trump's proposed 46%. This is while India waits for its interim trade agreement ahead of the July 9 deadline. India angle India relies on both a skilled workforce and high-end tech from China. So far, the impact has been limited, but experts say it could worsen as India is pinning its hopes on Apple to become a manufacturing powerhouse. However, Union minister for electronics, IT, railways and information & broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, has said the country plans to develop its own electronics manufacturing abilities and reduce dependence on China. At an ET Roundtable in New Delhi, Vaishnaw said that India is ramping up domestic production in a 'very methodical and sustained way', aiming for a 38% value addition over the next five years. 'De-risking is learning the skills and making it here and developing our own supply chain, which is what we are doing,' he said. China currently accounts for 38% value addition in electronics assembled in India. Vaishnaw said India is working to reduce its dependence on Chinese know-how and will lean on ecosystems in Taiwan, the US, and South Korea, alongside its own talent.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Pivot away: On U.S. student visas, Trump administration
Fresh appointments for U.S. student visa interviews have commenced at consulates as per the extended vetting programme that includes rigorous checking of the applicant's social media activities. A chunk of visa applications is still pending at a time when the visa processing winds down and students prepare to depart. Fresh appointments were frozen for nearly a month until the extended vetting programme could be launched. With a wait time of more than a month, many visa applications may go down to the wire as classes begin by the end of August/beginning of September. The extended vetting is only one among many disruptors to the flow of Indian students to the U.S. Many other policy proposals have had a chilling effect. The Trump administration's nominee to head the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has vowed to end the Optional Practical Training programme (OPT) that allows students time to work in the U.S. after graduation while still on student visa, and which serves as a segue toward jobs, work visas and green cards. Ending OPT will disincentivise studying in America. The Trump administration has also said that it will provide only fixed-tenure student visas. The axing of government spending and funding of research and other activities of higher education institutions has had its impact — there are reports of universities rescinding PhD admissions of Indian students. Anecdotal evidence points to a sharp decline in visa issuance in several cities and increased scrutiny of the ranking of institutions granting admissions. Many of the applicants this year had begun the application process before the 2024 U.S. presidential election and, therefore, have sought to go through the process despite the fears. Next year will truly gauge how attractive the U.S. still is for Indian students. When the Trump administration took office, it was felt that the worst of its anti-immigrant impulses would be softened by the tech billionaires who were supporting it. In the past, too, big business had driven policies bringing in talented immigrant workers and foreign students in Republican administrations. The exit of Elon Musk, however, is not a singular event but part of a trend of top techies exiting the Trump team. The cuts on green energy research in the recently passed 'Big Beautiful Bill' only serve to highlight the almost complete dominance of right-wing extremists in the administration, marked by the extreme views of its leading lights such as Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. The decline of the U.S. as a major attraction for Indian talent is perhaps only an indicator of how much India may have to pivot away from the U.S. in other areas as well.
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Trump steps up push for trade deals before July 9 deadline, but hints at more time for talks
Trump imposed elevated tariff rates on dozens of nations that run meaningful trade surpluses with the US, and a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries in response to what he called an economic emergency. There are separate 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum and a 25% tariff on autos. Since April, few foreign governments have set new trade terms with Washington as the Republican president demanded. Trump told reporters early Friday that his administration might be sending out letters as early as Saturday to countries spelling out their tariff rates if they did not reach a deal, but that the US would not start collecting those taxes until Aug. 1. On Friday night, he said he would 'probably send out 10 or 12' letters on Monday, each reflecting 'different amounts of money, different amounts of tariffs and somewhat different statements.' He and his advisers have declined to say which countries would receive the letters. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rejected the idea that Aug. 1 was a new deadline and declined to say what might happen Wednesday. 'We'll see," Bessent said on CNN's "State of the Union". "I'm not going to give away the playbook.' He said the US was 'close to several deals,' and predicted several big announcements over the next few days. He gave no details. "I think we're going to see a lot of deals very quickly,' Bessent said. Trump has announced a deal with Vietnam that would allow US goods to enter the country duty-free, while Vietnamese exports to the US would face a 20% levy. That was a decline from the 46% tax on Vietnamese imports he proposed in April — one of his so-called reciprocal tariffs targeting dozens of countries with which the US runs a trade deficit. Asked if he expected to reach deals with the European Union or India, Trump said Friday that 'letters are better for us' because there are so many countries involved. 'We have India coming up and with Vietnam, we did it, but much easier to send a letter saying, 'Listen, we know we have a certain deficit, or in some cases a surplus, but not too many. And this is what you're going to have to pay if you want to do business in the United States.' Canada, however, will not be one of the countries receiving letters, Trump's ambassador, Pete Hoekstra, said Friday after trade talks between the two countries recently resumed. 'Canada is one of our biggest trading partners,' Hoekstra told CTV News in an interview in Ottawa. 'We're going to have a deal that's articulated." Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he wants a new deal in place by July 21 or Canada will increase trade countermeasures. Hoekstra would not commit to a date for a trade agreement and said even with a deal, Canada could still face some tariffs. But 'we're not going to send Canada just a letter,' he said.
