Stock Market News Review: SPY, QQQ Jump on Strong Jobs Data, Offsetting U.S. GDP Forecast Cut
Tuesday was yet another green day for the S&P 500 (SPX) and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) as the market continues its push higher. Here's what you may have missed.
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This morning, the market received a positive surprise after the April Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed 7.39 million job openings, ahead of the expectation for 7.10 million and rising from 7.19 million in March. That points to a strong job market during a time of heightened economic uncertainty.
With economic uncertainty in mind, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) cut its 2025 U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 1.6% from 2.2%, citing increased trade barriers, inflation risks, and lower confidence. It also lowered the 2025 global GDP growth forecast to 2.9% from 3.0%, dragged down by the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and China.
Meanwhile, China Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said that the U.S. ' falsely accuses and smears China, and has taken extreme suppression measures against China such as new chip export controls, blocking EDA sales, and announcing plans to revoke Chinese students' visas' in a sign of rising tensions between the two countries. This comes after President Trump accused China of violating the trade agreement signed in Geneva last month, which lowered tariffs on each side by 115% among other measures. Several White House officials have confirmed that Trump will soon speak to China President Xi Jinping over the phone, although Jian said 'I have no information to offer' when asked about the call.
Later on, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump would attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in the The Hague, Netherlands on June 24 and 25. Trump is likely to ask NATO leaders to increase defense spending in order to lift the load from the U.S.
The S&P 500 closed higher by 0.58% while the Nasdaq 100 finished with a 0.79% gain.
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