US Stocks close at fresh highs after solid jobs data

RTHK

9 hours ago

US Stocks close at fresh highs after solid jobs data
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are at record highs, while the Dow is less than half a percent away from its own record. Photo: Reuters
Wall Street rallied on Thursday to record closing highs, as chipmaker Nvidia rose closer to a US$4 trillion valuation and a surprisingly strong US jobs report cheered investors, who shrugged off dimming chances for an interest rate cut this month.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs, notching a third week of gains. The Dow closed up 0.77 percent, only 0.41 percent away from its own record.
Chipmaker Nvidia rose 1.3 percent, putting its market capitalization at US$3.89 trillion. The company is close to overtaking Apple's all-time record and becoming the world's most valuable company in history.
Trading volume was light in a shorter session on the eve of Friday's US Independence Day holiday.
"We are seeing a real bout of irrational exuberance; the stock market is very biased towards optimism," said Kristina Hooper, Chief Market Strategist at Man Group in New York.
"But there's some basis for it. I think there is some level of relief because the jobs report was not as weak as it could have been."
The rally has been fueled by retail investors, who are largely ignoring the inflationary pressure on the horizon, uncertainty around tariffs and "are focused on the tangible, which is today's jobs report," she said.
The S&P 500 gained 51 points, or 0.8 percent , to 6,279 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 207 points, or 1 percent , to 20,601. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 344 points, or 0.8 percent, to 44,828.
Data showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 147,000 jobs last month, 33 percent more than the 110,000 jobs forecasted by economists polled by Reuters.
Unemployment fell to 4.1 percent last month, a better result than the 4.3 percent expected.
After markets closed, Republicans in the US House of Representatives approved President Donald Trump's massive tax-cut and spending bill, an expected outcome.
The legislation will add US$3.4 trillion to the nation's US$36.2 trillion debt, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, and will also push millions of Americans off health insurance. (Reuters)