US markets end mostly higher on Wednesday

04 Jul 2024 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday on optimism about the outlook for interest rates following the release of some weaker than expected economic data. A report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed an unexpected contraction by U.S. service sector activity in the month of June. The ISM said its services PMI slid to 48.8 in June from 53.8 in May, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction. Street had expected the index to edge down to 52.5. Meanwhile, the Labor Department released a separate report showing a modest increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended June 29th. The report said initial jobless claims rose to 238,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level of 234,000.

Street had expected jobless claims to inch up to 235,000 from the 233,000 originally reported for the previous week. Besides, Payroll processor ADP also released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of June. ADP said private sector employment climbed by 150,000 jobs in June after rising by an upwardly revised 157,000 jobs in May. Street had expected private sector employment to increase by 160,000 jobs compared to the addition of 152,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. On the sectoral front, Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside, resulting in a 3.6 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The rally by gold stocks came amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal.

Nasdaq surged 159.54 points or 0.88 percent to 18,188.3 and S&P 500 was up by 28.01 points or 0.51 percent to 5,537.02, while Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23.85 points or 0.06 percent to 39,308.  


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