US markets end higher on Friday following jobs data

06 Jul 2024 Evaluate

The US markets, after showing a cautious performance in early deals, managed to end the session with decent gains on Friday as the Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report for June generated optimism about the outlook for interest rates. While employment jumped by more than expected in June, the report also showed downward revisions to job growth in April and May as well as another unexpected uptick by the unemployment rate. The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 206,000 jobs in June compared to street estimates for an increase of about 190,000 jobs. However, the report also showed the increases in employment in April and May were downwardly revised to 108,000 jobs and 218,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 111,000 jobs. The unemployment rate also rose for the third straight month, inching up to 4.1 percent in June from 4.0 percent in May. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged. With the unexpected uptick, the unemployment rate reached its highest level since hitting a matching rate in November 2021.

Overall trading activity was somewhat subdued on the day, as some traders remained away from their desks following the Independence Day holiday on Thursday. On the sectoral front, Gold stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, resulting in a 2.6 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The strength among gold stocks came as the price of the precious metal climbed to its highest levels in a month. Significant strength also emerged among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index. Pharmaceutical and retail stocks also showed notable moves to the upside, with the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index and the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index climbing by 1.3 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively. On the other hand, airline stocks showed a substantial move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 2.5 percent.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 67.87 points or 0.17 percent to 39,375.87, Nasdaq surged 164.46 points or 0.90 percent to 18,352.76 and S&P 500 was up by 30.17 points or 0.54 percent to 5,567.19.


© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×