US markets end session with solid gains on strong jobs data

03 Jun 2023 Evaluate

The US markets extended their previous session’s northward journey and ended the session with strong gains on Friday. The Nasdaq reached its best closing level in well over a year, while the S&P 500 set a new nine-month closing high. Sentiments got a boost following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing U.S. employment surged by much more than expected in the month of May. The report showed non-farm employment soared by 339,000 jobs in May after spiking by an upwardly revised 294,000 jobs in April. Street had expected employment to climb by 190,000 jobs compared to the jump of 253,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate rose to 3.7 percent in May from 3.4 percent in April. The unemployment rate was expected to inch up to 3.5 percent.

Some strength on Wall Street also came in amid reports that the Senate voted to pass the bill raising the U.S. debt ceiling late Thursday night. The Senate voted 63 to 36 in favor of the debt ceiling bill, with 17 Republicans joining with the majority of Democrats to approve the legislation. The passage of the bill eliminates the threat of a potentially disastrous default by the U.S. government, which had been hanging over the markets in recent weeks. On the sectoral front, oil service stocks moved sharply higher along with the price of crude oil, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 5.5 percent. The rally by oil service stocks came as the price of crude oil for July delivery jumped $1.64 to $71.74 a barrel. Substantial strength was also visible among steel stocks, while banking stocks also showed a significant move to the upside.

Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 701.19 points or 2.12 percent to 33,762.76, Nasdaq surged 139.78 points or 1.07 percent to 13,240.77 and S&P 500 was up by 61.35 points or 1.45 percent to 4,282.37.

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