S&P 500, Nasdaq new record highs on strong labour data
Nvidia was trading at a record high, up 2.2 per cent, and was track to become the most valuable company in history, with the chipmaker's market capitalisation nearing $US4 trillion ($A6.1trillion).
Data showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 147,000 jobs last month after an upwardly revised 144,000 advance in May, while economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising 110,000. Unemployment fell to 4.1 per cent last month, against expectations of a rise to 4.3 per cent.
"We were all expecting the hard data would start to show some cracks, and we really haven't seen that with the jobs report coming in much better than expected," said Brian Klimke, chief market strategist at Cetera Investment Management LLC.
"That just puts the Fed on pause and gives it more time to wait right now because the labour market is really resilient."
Traders quickly priced out chances of an interest-rate cut in July, with the odds of a 25-basis-point reduction in September at 69.2 per cent, according to CME Group's Fedwatch tool, down from 74 per cent a week ago.
The data was released a day early because of the Independence Day holiday on Friday. Trading volumes were lighter than usual on Thursday with markets due to close early.
Another dataset showed the number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell to a six-week low last week.
US services sector activity picked up in June as orders rebounded but employment contracted for the third time this year, underlining the impact of policy uncertainty on businesses.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq extended their record-winning session as signs of a resilient economy and easing trade tensions following a series of agreements between the United States and other countries continue to propel stocks higher.
Meanwhile, the blue-chip Dow was just 0.8 per cent below all-time highs touched in December.
All three main indexes were on track to end the holiday-truncated week on a positive note, if gains hold.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the US House of Representatives advanced President Donald Trump's massive tax-cut and spending bill toward a final yes-or-no vote, appearing to overcome internal party divisions over its cost.
The legislation is expected to add $US3.4 trillion ($A5.2 trillion) to the nation's $US36.2 trillion ($A55.1 trillion) in debt over the next decade, according to nonpartisan analysts.
In early trading on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 284.02 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 44,769.03, the S&P 500 gained 41.23 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 6,268.65, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 161.74 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 20,554.87.
Shares of chip design software firms Synopsys and Cadence Design Systems climbed three per cent and 3.7 per cent, respectively, in premarket trading after the US lifted export restrictions on chip design software to China, signaling a thaw in trade tensions between the world's top two economies.
Tripadvisor climbed 15 per cent after the Wall Street Journal reported activist investor Starboard Value had built a more than nine per cent stake in the online travel company.
Datadog jumped 9.4 per cent after the cloud security firm was set to replace Juniper Networks on the S&P 500.
US solar stocks jumped in early trading, with First Solar rising about 10 per cent to become the top-performing individual stock on the S&P 500 index.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.53-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 2.29-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 36 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 85 new highs and 13 new lows.
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