Stocks climb as strong US jobs data pushes off rate hike
Investors were also keeping a close eye on President Donald Trump's bid to push through a tax-cutting budget and reach trade deals.
London's stock market and the pound recovered, having taken a knock Wednesday on rumours that British finance minister Rachel Reeves faced losing her job.
Oil prices fell, with OPEC and the cartel's crude-producing allies expected to announce a rise to output Sunday.
Investors had been keenly awaiting the US government's monthly non-farm payrolls report, seen as one of the best data points on the health of companies and the labour market.
Job growth came in at 147,000 last month, beating expectations, and rising from an upwardly revised 144,000 figure in May.
'The much stronger nonfarm payrolls data means a July rate cut is now no longer in consideration, which is music to stock market bulls' ears,' said City Index and FOREX. com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
Wall Street's main indices opened higher, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite pushing up from record closes.
'But with the July 9 tariff deadline looming next week, can stocks retain their gains ahead of the long weekend?,' added Razaqzada.
US markets are closed on Friday for US Independence Day celebrations, but negotiators from several nations are racing to reach trade deals with Washington ahead of the deadline imposed by Trump.
Yesterday's jobs numbers comes one day after a smaller survey showed the US private sector unexpectedly shed jobs last month for the first time since March 2023. That suggested that the US economy was beginning to be hit by the uncertainty caused by Trump's trade war.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Insider
5 hours ago
- Gulf Insider
Swiss To Vote On 50% Inheritance Tax That Risks Exodus Of The Super-Rich
In a national referendum set for November, the people of Switzerland will vote on whether the country should impose a 50% inheritance tax on the wealthiest of people — under a regimen so harsh that not even surviving spouses would be spared from the rapacious confiscation. Naturally, this is triggering predictions of a mass-exodus of wealthy people, with opponents pointing to a wave of departures the United Kingdom has witnessed in the wake of its own recent wealth-seizure move. Under the proposal, a 50% federal tax would apply to inheritances and gifts above 50 million francs — about $63 million. The measure isn't supported by the legislative Federal Assembly nor the executive Federal Council. However, under Swiss law, public proposals must be put to a nationwide plebiscite if 100,000 supporting signatures are collected. The signature campaign was led by Switzerland's Young Socialists. Reliably sounding like an elementary school group project, under the Young Socialists proposal, the confiscated wealth would be thrown down a woke rathole, with all proceeds used to combat 'climate change.' While Swiss inheritance taxes at the cantonal level provide an inheritance tax exemption for transfers to spouses and direct descendants, the socialists' proposal for the 50% federal tax would not. Peter Spuhler, 66-year-old owner of steel giant Stadler Rail, decried the proposal as a pending 'disaster for Switzerland,' estimating the tax would seize upwards of 2 billion Swiss francs A popular vote for the new inheritance tax on Nov 30 could hammer Switzerland's long-held status as a premier tax haven for the world's wealthiest people. A consortium of opponents that includes centrists and conservatives is already working to dissuade Swiss voters from indulging any impulses to soak the rich. 'The brutal 50% inheritance tax threatens the existence of family businesses and causes high economic costs. It's a setback for everyone,' said the organization in a statement. In April, a new tax rule took effect in the UK, imposing a 40% inheritance tax on the global assets of 'non-doms,' a term that refers to residents of the UK who are considered under British law to have their permanent home — their domicile — in another country. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is already considering avenues by which the change can be undone, after it promptly triggered an exodus of wealthy people eyeing alternatives like the United Arab Emirates, Italy and, yes, Switzerland. Among those who are either considering departure from the UK or have already done so: Egypt's richest man, Nassef Sawiris, and Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who has lived in the UK for 30 years. Georgia Fotiou, a lawyer advising private clients at Zurich-based Staiger Law, says the proposal is already harming Switzerland's ability to benefit from the UK's own inheritance-tax folly. 'In terms of the chance for Switzerland to attract people leaving the UK, the damage has been done. The timing was terrible,' she told the Financial Times . 'It hasn't stopped everyone from coming but more have chosen Italy, Greece, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere instead.' To become law, the proposal must clear two hurdles, garnering not only a majority of support nationwide, but also in a majority of Switzerland's 26 cantons. Despite the substantial likelihood of failure, the proposal already has some wealthy people on the move, say Swiss tax advisors and wealth managers. They caution that even a defeat — if it's by a relatively modest margin — could leave mega-wealthy individuals hesitant about the country. As Frédéric Rochat, managing partner of Geneva-based Lombard Odier, told the Times , 'It needs to be voted down with such an overwhelming majority [that this possibility can] be put to bed for 20 years.'
Daily Tribune
8 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Trump close to victory on flagship tax bill
US lawmakers teed up a final vote on Donald Trump's marquee tax and spending bill for yesterday morning after bruising Republican infighting nearly derailed the centerpiece of the president's domestic agenda. Almost 24 hours after debate began, Trump appeared close to victory as Congress edged towards passing his 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' despite misgivings in his party over a text that would balloon the national debt while launching a historic assault on the social safety net. The bill would be a major landmark in Trump's political life, sealing his vision of US domestic policy into law -- and coming after he scored recent wins including in the Supreme Court and with US strikes that led to a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Speaker Mike Johnson struggled through the night to corral his rank-and-file Republican members after the package scraped through a series of 'test' votes in the House of Representatives that laid bare deep divisions in the party. It was on course for a final vote that would put it on Trump's desk to be signed into law after passing its last procedural hurdle in the early hours of yesterday. 'We feel very good about where we are and we're moving forward,' an upbeat Johnson told reporters at the Capitol. 'So we're going to deliver the Big, Beautiful Bill -- the president's 'America First' agenda -- and we're going to do right by the American people.' Funds for mass deportation The timetable could slip however as Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries continued a long speech opposing the bill that delayed proceedings by several hours. Originally approved by the House in May, Trump's sprawling legislation squeezed through the Senate on Tuesday but had to return to the lower chamber for a rubber stamp of the senators' revisions. The package honors many of Trump's campaign promises, boosting military spending, funding a mass migrant deportation drive and committing $4.5 trillion to extend his first-term tax relief. But it is expected to pile an extra $3.4 trillion over a decade onto the country's fast-growing deficits, while shrinking the federal food stamps program and forcing through the largest cuts to the Medicaid health insurance scheme for low-income Americans since its 1960s launch. While Republican moderates in the House are anxious that the cuts will damage their prospects of reelection, fiscal hawks chafed over savings that they say fall far short of what was promised. Johnson has to negotiate tight margins, and can likely only lose three lawmakers in the final vote, among more than two dozen who had declared themselves open to rejecting Trump's bill.
Daily Tribune
9 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Stocks climb as strong US jobs data pushes off rate hike
Stock markets rose and the dollar slid yesterday as strong jobs data showed the resilience of the US economy and reduced the likelihood of interest rate cuts. Investors were also keeping a close eye on President Donald Trump's bid to push through a tax-cutting budget and reach trade deals. London's stock market and the pound recovered, having taken a knock Wednesday on rumours that British finance minister Rachel Reeves faced losing her job. Oil prices fell, with OPEC and the cartel's crude-producing allies expected to announce a rise to output Sunday. Investors had been keenly awaiting the US government's monthly non-farm payrolls report, seen as one of the best data points on the health of companies and the labour market. Job growth came in at 147,000 last month, beating expectations, and rising from an upwardly revised 144,000 figure in May. 'The much stronger nonfarm payrolls data means a July rate cut is now no longer in consideration, which is music to stock market bulls' ears,' said City Index and FOREX. com analyst Fawad Razaqzada. Wall Street's main indices opened higher, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite pushing up from record closes. 'But with the July 9 tariff deadline looming next week, can stocks retain their gains ahead of the long weekend?,' added Razaqzada. US markets are closed on Friday for US Independence Day celebrations, but negotiators from several nations are racing to reach trade deals with Washington ahead of the deadline imposed by Trump. Yesterday's jobs numbers comes one day after a smaller survey showed the US private sector unexpectedly shed jobs last month for the first time since March 2023. That suggested that the US economy was beginning to be hit by the uncertainty caused by Trump's trade war.
