S&P 500, Nasdaq hit records after strong jobs report
Nvidia nears $4 trillion market cap, eyes Apple record
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reached record highs on Thursday after new U.S. labor data beat Wall Street expectations.
The July 3 report confirmed the resilience of the U.S. economy but tempered hopes that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates soon.
The Labor Department said employers added 147,000 jobs in June, surpassing the 110,000 estimate, while unemployment fell to 4.1% from 4.2% in May.
The Fed, with its dual mandate of promoting employment and controlling inflation, said it needs more time to assess economic impact before adjusting rates.
Currently, the CME Group's FedWatch Tool shows a 95%+ probability that the Fed will keep rates unchanged at its July meeting. The market responded by pricing in prolonged tight monetary policy, pushing yields higher.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.35% from 4.26%, while the U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.4% to 97.16, recovering from its lowest level since early 2022 on Wednesday.
Corporate record rally
The shortened trading week ahead of Independence Day ended on a strong note, fueled by the positive jobs report and tariff negotiation optimism.S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both closed at record highs for the fourth time in five sessions, rising 0.8% and 1% respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained 0.8%, just shy of a new high.
S&P 500 Index. Source: Yahoo Finance
A total of 36 S&P 500 companies hit new 52-week highs on Thursday, with 25 reaching all-time highs, according to Investopedia.
Royal Caribbean hit its highest price since its IPO in 1993. American Express broke its record dating back to 1977. Other top gainers included Capital One, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Loews, Morgan Stanley, Nasdaq Inc., CrowdStrike, Nvidia, and Oracle.
The $4 trillion market cap race
Nvidia (NVDA) is inching closer to becoming the most valuable company in history, challenging Apple’s top spot as its market cap nears $4 trillion.Shares of the AI chipmaker rose just over 1% to close at a record $159.34, lifting its valuation to $3.89 trillion.
Had shares stayed near intraday highs around $161, Nvidia would have surpassed Apple’s all-time closing record of $3.91 trillion from December.A 3% gain from Thursday’s close to around $163.93 could officially make Nvidia the first company to reach a $4 trillion market cap.
As we wrote, Nasdaq Composite edges higher amid tax relief and upcoming jobs data
