WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving mostly higher over the course of Wednesday's session, stocks saw continued strength during trading on Thursday. With the continued advance, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 once again reached new record closing highs.
The major averages moved roughly sideways after an early upward move, hovering firmly in positive territory. The Nasdaq jumped 207.97 points or 1.0 percent to 20,601.10, the S&P 500 advanced 51.93 points or 0.8 percent to 6,279.35 and the Dow climbed 344.11 points or 0.7 percent to 44,828.53.
The continued strength on Wall Street came following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of June.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 147,000 jobs in June after jumping by an upwardly revised 144,000 jobs in May.
Economists had expected employment to increase by 110,000 jobs compared to the addition of 139,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The report also said the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent in June from 4.2 percent in May. The unemployment rate was expected to inch up to 4.3 percent.
Traders reacted positively to the data even though the stronger than expected job growth is likely to reduce the chances of a near-term interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
'If businesses keep expanding payrolls like they've done so far this year, the Fed can comfortably sit in 'wait and see' mode at the upcoming policy meeting,' said Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist for LPL Financial. 'Uncertainty around tariffs and trade have apparently not spooked businesses into shedding workers.'
He added, 'One note of caution: the administration is still actively negotiating details with several major trading partners and the eventual business impacts are unknown.'
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.
Sector News
Networking stocks turned in some of the market's best performances, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index surging by 2.3 percent to a record closing high.
Considerable strength was also visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent 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.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index inched up by 0.1 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index edged up by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European have all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index crept up by 0.6 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both climbed by 0.6 percent.
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 basis points to 4.348 percent.
Looking Ahead
Following the long Fourth of July weekend, the U.S. economic calendar for next week is relatively quiet, although the minutes of the latest Fed meeting may attract some attention.
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