Stocks surge to records as job growth picks up
Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson plans to beat Jeff Bezos into space
Stocks up on stronger-then-expected jobs report
FOX Business’ Ashley Webster and Susan Li on Friday’s market open.
U.S. equity markets rallied into the record books Friday as investors digested the better-than-expected June jobs report ahead of the holiday weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 154 points, or 0.45%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.75% and 0.81%, respectively. All three indexes closed at all-time highs ahead of the extended 4th of July weekend.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 44782 | -128.65 | -0.29% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 6047.15 | +14.77 | +0.24% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 19403.947849 | +185.78 | +0.97% |
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 850,000 workers in June as the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.9%, the Labor Department said Friday. Analysts surveyed by Refintiv were expecting the addition of 700,000 and the unemployment rate to fall to 5.7%. May’s reading was revised higher by 24,000 jobs to 583,000.
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In response to the jobs report, the yield on the 10-year bond note dipped to near 1.43%, its lowest level since early March.
In stocks, mega-cap technology companies Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc. and Nvidia Corp. all hit record highs.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 423.46 | +0.47 | +0.11% |
| GOOGL | ALPHABET INC. | 168.95 | -0.28 | -0.17% |
| NVDA | NVIDIA CORP. | 138.25 | +2.91 | +2.15% |
Meanwhile, interest-rate-sensitive financial firms, including Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., underperformed as bond yields declined.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPM | JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. | 249.76 | -0.14 | -0.06% |
| GS | THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC. | 605.42 | +0.18 | +0.03% |
Elsewhere, Boeing Co. shares slipped after a cargo version of the 737 jet experienced engine trouble and made an emergency landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Honolulu.
Raytheon Co. was awarded a $2 billion nuclear missile contract from the Air Force. The weapon, which will be manufactured in Tucson, Arizona, is expected to be completed in 2027.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA | THE BOEING CO. | 152.42 | +1.70 | +1.13% |
| RTX | RTX CORP. | 120.33 | -0.29 | -0.24% |
| SPCE | VIRGIN GALACTIC HOLDINGS INC. | 7.03 | +0.01 | +0.21% |
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. said founder Richard Branson will be a member of the July 11 test flight of its SpaceShipTwo Unity, putting him on track to beat outgoing Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos by nine days.
Krispy Kreme Inc. and Didi Global Inc. remained in focus following their recent initial public offerings.
Krispy Kreme shares surrendered a good portion of their gains experienced during Thursday's debut while Didi shares added to the 1.5% decline that occurred during the first two trading sessions after Chinese regulators announced an investigation into national data security risks.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNUT | KRISPY KREME | 11.02 | +0.03 | +0.27% |
| DIDI | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
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In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 7 cents to $75.16 a barrel and gold jumped $6.70 to $1,782.60 an ounce.
Overseas markets were mixed.
European bourses ended little changed with Germany's DAX 30 slipping 0.03%, France’s CAC 40 ticking down 0.01% and Britain’s FTSE 100 rising 0.3%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rallied 0.27%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and China’s Shanghai Composite declining 1.8% and 1.95%, respectively.