US markets end higher on Thursday

06 Jul 2018 Evaluate

The US markets ended in green on Thursday on the back of easing trade concerns amid reports Trump might suspend threats to impose tariffs on cars imported from Europe if duties on U.S. cars are lifted. Positive sentiment was also generated by a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing growth in activity in the U.S. service sector unexpectedly accelerated in the month of June. The ISM said its non-manufacturing index rose to 59.1 in June after climbing to 58.6 in May, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the service sector. The street had expected the index to edge down to 58.3. Meanwhile, a report from payroll processor ADP showed private sector employment increased by less than expected in the month of June. ADP said private sector employment climbed by 177,000 jobs in June after jumping by an upwardly revised 189,000 jobs in May. The street had expected employment to rise by about 190,000 jobs compared to the addition of 178,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed a modest uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended June 30th. The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 231,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 228,000. The modest increase came as a surprise to market participants, who had expected jobless claims to edge down to 225,000 from the 227,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 181.92 points or 0.75 percent to 24356.74, the S&P 500 rose 23.39 points or 0.86 percent to 2736.61 and the Nasdaq was up by 83.75 points or 1.12 percent to 7586.43.

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