S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record highs as jobs report fuels bets on September rate cut

He lives7 updates

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  Friday, July 5, 2024 at 12:38 PM EST

  Stocks rose in afternoon trading.

  Stocks were mostly higher Friday afternoon, following a strong June jobs report that could put pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in September.

  The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.3% following the report after posting a record close in a shortened session on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.8%, helped by gains in tech giants.

• Friday, July 5, 2024 at 11:45 AM EST

  Epic Games says Apple is delaying the launch of its game store in Europe

  Epic Games, the maker of the popular video game Fortnite, said Apple (AAPL) has rejected its requests that would allow it to launch a game store in Europe, hampering its efforts.

  In response, the game publisher said it had shared its concerns with the European Commission, escalating a long-running dispute between the two companies over allowing consumers direct access to purchases outside of Apple’s App Store.

  in Series of posts about Friday XEpic Games said Apple objected to the design, placement and naming of some digital buttons in its mobile store application documents. Epic claims it has used the same naming conventions in app stores on other platforms and follows standard conventions for buttons in iOS apps.

  “Apple’s denial is arbitrary, obstructive, and in violation of the DMA, and we have shared our concerns with the European Commission,” Epic said in the posts.

  Last month, European Union regulators filed their first charges under a new digital competition law against Apple, alleging that Apple prevented app developers from directing customers to more affordable options outside its App Store.

• 

  Friday, July 5, 2024 at 11:00 AM EST

  Tesla continues its winning streak

  Tesla (TSLA) shares rose about 1.1% during morning trading on Friday, setting the stage for the company to extend its longest winning streak in more than a year.

  After rising 30% over the past seven sessions — and up about 40% in the past month — the stock is approaching its 2024 breakeven point after falling 40% so far in mid-April, Yahoo Finance reports. Inas FerryThe gains far outpace the S&P 500’s modest 3.5% gain over the past month.

  Tesla’s extended rally comes as the automaker beat its quarterly deliveries earlier this week.

  Apart from these production and delivery results, Tesla bulls They also highlighted the company’s fastest growing segment – ​​energy storage.

  Tesla will report its quarterly results on July 23 after the market closes. Analysts are also looking ahead to August 8 when the company will unveil its long-awaited robotaxi.

• Friday, July 5, 2024 at 10:15 AM EST

  Stock Trends in Morning Trading

  Here are some of the stocks that are topping Yahoo Finance’s financial indicators page during Friday morning trading.

  Tesla (Tesla): Tesla shares were down slightly after investors sent the electric-car maker up about 25% over the past week after the company reported vehicle deliveries that beat Wall Street expectations. More broadly, investors are betting on a positive quarterly report later this month and the unveiling of a robotaxi in early August that bullish analysts say will mark the next phase of Tesla’s story. Shares were down less than 1% in morning trading.

  Coinbase (currency): The cryptocurrency market is tumbling, dragging down companies associated with it. The digital asset exchange is down 5%, reflecting a drop in the price of bitcoin (BTC-USD), the most popular and largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Bitcoin fell to its lowest levels against the dollar since February. Cryptocurrency mining company Marathon (MARA) is down 7%, and online brokerage Robinhood (HOOD) is down 4%.

  Maisie (M): Shares of the struggling department store chain rose about 10% Friday morning, After report A group of investors has made a second offer to buy the company. The latest offer was $300 million higher than the previous one.

  Samsung Electronics (005930.K.S): The manufacturing giant’s shares rose 3% Friday morning after the company reported quarterly earnings rose 15 times from a year ago, sending the stock to a three-year high, boosted by the artificial intelligence boom.

• 

  Friday, July 5, 2024 at 9:33 AM EST

  Stocks steady as unemployment rises

  U.S. stocks held near all-time highs on Friday as investors parsed how a June jobs report showing a slightly higher unemployment rate would impact the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.

  The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was little changed following the report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell below the straight line, while the tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) remained above it. Friday’s trading session continues the rollercoaster ride from Wednesday, with all three gauges closed Thursday for the Fourth of July holiday.

• 

  Friday, July 5, 2024 at 8:59 AM EST

  Pressure is mounting on the Federal Reserve to act.

  There’s no doubt that the story that will come out of Friday’s jobs report will be: The Fed risks being left behind.

  This means the central bank could end up cutting interest rates too late, just as many believe it was too slow to raise rates in 2022.

  With the unemployment rate now at its highest level since November 2021, other data — such as rising continuing jobless claims and falling job openings — are starting to look like they are sending a clear signal that headline job gains overestimated the strength of the labor market.

  Inflation data continues to slow toward the Fed’s 2% target, although that progress appeared to stall in the first few months of the year.

  The Fed’s sensitivity to inflation data running above its target after the 40-year highs seen in 2022 has been a hallmark of this policy regime. But the labor market is starting to speak louder and clearer: Things are getting tough for more workers.

  Renaissance Macro’s Neil Dutta has become a leading voice on Wall Street arguing that the Fed needs to be more aggressive in cutting rates this fall. In a note just minutes after Friday’s report, he said: “Today’s jobs report should bolster expectations for a September rate cut. Economic conditions are cooling and that makes the tradeoffs different for the Fed.”

  Dutta sees the Fed’s July meeting as a way to pave the way for a rate cut in September.

• 

  Friday, July 5, 2024 at 8:54 AM EST

  Jobs rise but unemployment rate rises to highest level since 2021

  The U.S. labor market added more jobs than expected in June while the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to its highest level since November 2021 in another sign that the labor market continues to slow.

  Information from Bureau of Labor Statistics Data released on Friday showed that the U.S. economy added 206,000 nonfarm jobs in June, more than the 190,000 jobs economists had expected.

  The unemployment rate rose to 4.1%, up from 4% the previous month and the highest level in nearly three years. The new jobs in June were a slight decline from May, which saw job gains revised to 218,000 on Friday from the 272,000 jobs initially reported last month.

  Stock futures rose after the report, adding to gains after the market traded at record highs earlier this week amid a string of weaker-than-expected economic data, including inflation readings that put the U.S. back on a “deflationary path,” according to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.