US markets end higher on better-than-expected jobs report

07 Jul 2018 Evaluate

The US markets extended their gains for second straight day on Friday, after Labor Department data showed that a better-than-expected growth in jobs report for June, despite trade-war anxieties. The US created 213,000 new jobs in June, another hearty gain that shows companies are finding ways to fill open jobs despite a dwindling pool of skilled workers. The Labor Department said in a surprise, the unemployment rate rose to 4% last month after dropping to an 18-year low of 3.8% in May. The jobless rate rose largely because some 600,000 people entered the labor force. Besides, hourly wages rose a modest 5 cents to $26.98 and the yearly rate of pay increases was unchanged at 2.7%.

Separately, the nation’s trade deficit shrank 6.6% in May to a 19-month low, just a month before the first wave of US tariffs on foreign goods in a broadening dispute over unfair trade practices. The Commerce Department said the deficit declined to $43.1 billion in May from a revised $46.1 billion in April. Exports rose 1.9% to a record $215.3 billion. The US shipped more passenger planes and soybeans, among other things. Imports rose a smaller 0.4% to $258.4 billion. The US imported more wireless phones and computers and fewer pharmaceutical drugs. Meanwhile, the Trump administration officially imposed tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports at midnight Eastern Time, and Beijing implemented tariffs on the same value in US goods, as promised.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 99.74 points or 0.41 percent to 24456.48, the S&P 500 rose 23.21 points or 0.85 percent to 2759.82 and the Nasdaq was up by 101.96 points or 1.34 percent to 7688.39 .

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