Closed on Thursday for Independence Day, Wall Street ended the session at new highs on Friday, after monthly employment figures confirmed a certain cooling of the world’s leading economy.
At the close of trading, the S&P 500 rose by +0.54% to 5,567 points, after a new record at 5,570.33 points during the session. The Dow Jones climbed by +0.17% to 39,375 points. The Nasdaq was also very firm with a gain of +0.90% to 18,352 points at the close, and a record high at 18,366 points during the session.
While job creations came in higher than expected in June, those of previous months were revised downward. The unemployment rate increased in the United States and growth in average wages did not hold any unpleasant surprises. Thus, the report from the Labor Department reports 206,000 non-farm jobs created last month (on average 190,000 expected) and a May figure revised downward, to 218,000 against 272,000 announced in the first estimate.
For its part, the unemployment rate was 4.1% in June (4% in May), while the consensus was counting on a stable figure of 4%.
“Today’s jobs report should reinforce expectations for a September rate cut. Economic conditions are cooling, which makes the tradeoffs different for the Fed. Ultimately, the unemployment rate is rising and that’s what’s factored into the summary of economic projections,” Neil Dutta of Renaissance Macro Research told Bloomberg. “This is the kind of jobs report the Fed has been waiting for: softer, but still decent, data that could justify two rate cuts this year,” added Florian Ielpo, head of macro research at Lombard Odier IM.
“Inflation slowed markedly last year and made modest progress toward its goal this year,” the Fed said Friday in its latest Monetary Policy Report to Congress. The institution now believes that it is only a matter of time before the dynamics of housing prices, a recurring driver of inflation, return to their pre-pandemic pace. In its biannual report, it estimates that “the balance between supply and demand for employment appears comparable to that of the period immediately preceding the pandemic, during which the labor market was tight but not overheated.”
On the oil side, the barrel of WTI crude fell by -1% to $83.37. North Sea Brent fell by -0.85% to $86.81.
The dollar is trading at 0.922 euros.
Gold remains firm, trading at $2,389 per ounce. Bitcoin falls to $56,662.
Values
* Macy’s (+9.54% to $19.64). Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management have raised their offer for the department store chain to about $6.9 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. The new proposal would buy the Macy’s shares that Arkhouse and Brigade Capital don’t already own for $24.80 each, up from $24 offered in March, the report said. Arkhouse, which owns 4.4% of Macy’s, had previously raised its offer to $24 from $21 a share. The current offer represents a premium of about 43% to Macy’s closing price on Dec. 8, when negotiations began.
* Tesla (+2.08% to $251.52). With this 8th consecutive session of progress, the carmaker returns to its highs of 6 months ago. The Model Y, the best-seller of the American brand, has been included by local authorities in China on a list of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles as models eligible for public orders, reported the Chinese official media ‘The Paper’. This is the first time that Tesla vehicles can be purchased by the government in China. In addition, the environmental authorities of the German state of Brandenburg, where Tesla has built a gigafactory, have approved the group’s request to expand the Gruenheide factory, thus removing an obstacle in its growth plans.
* Amazon (+1.22% to $200). The European Commission has asked the American giant to provide more information on the measures taken to comply with its obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
