US markets end higher amid report of delayed Mexican tariffs

07 Jun 2019 Evaluate

Extending their previous session’s gains, the US markets ended higher with gains of over half a percent on Thursday, after reports that Trump administration is considering delaying a planned 5% tariff on all imports from Mexico, as discussions continue over how to stop the flow of Central American migrants to the US border. Mexico is pushing for more time to negotiate amid concerns the two sides will not reach an agreement on all the steps Mexico needs to take to stop the flow of migrants before a Monday deadline. Besides, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for US unemployment benefits came in unchanged in the week ended June 01. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims came in at 218,000, unchanged from the previous week’s revised level. Street had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 215,000 originally reported for the previous week. The report said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 215,000, a decrease of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average of 217,500.

However, revised data released by the Labor Department showed US labor productivity increased by slightly less than initially estimated in the first quarter. The report said the jump in productivity in the first quarter was downwardly revised to 3.4 percent from 3.6 percent, although the growth still reflects a notable acceleration from the 1.3 percent increase in the fourth quarter. Productivity is a measure of output per hour, and the spike in output was downwardly revised to 3.9 percent from 4.1 percent, while the increase in hours worked was unrevised at 0.5 percent. The Labor Department also said unit labor costs slumped by a revised 1.6 percent in the first quarter compared to the previously reported 0.9 percent drop. Meanwhile, reflecting a bigger decease in the dollar value of imports than the dollar value of exports, the Commerce Department released a report showing the US trade deficit narrowed in the month of April. The Commerce Department said the trade deficit narrowed to $50.8 billion in April from a revised $51.9 billion in March. Street had expected the deficit to widen to $50.7 billion from the $50.0 billion originally reported for the previous month. The narrower deficit came as the value of imports fell by $5.7 billion or 2.2 percent to $257.6 billion, while the value of exports dropped by $4.6 billion or 2.2 percent to $206.8 billion.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 181.09 points or 0.71 percent to 25720.66, Nasdaq gained 40.08 points or 0.53 percent to 7615.55 and S&P 500 was up by 17.34 points or 0.61 percent to 2843.49.

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