S&P 500, Dow hit records after July jobs report shows multiple signs of labor-market strength
- The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average hit fresh records Friday.
- Tech stocks fell as labor-market strength stoked concerns about the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy.
- July jobs rose by 943,000, higher than expectations of 870,000 job additions.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit record highs Friday after the July jobs report illustrated growing strength in the labor market and stoked the possibility that the Federal Reserve will soon start pulling back on economic stimulus measures.
The new highs follow a record for the S&P 500 set on Thursday after the Labor Department turned in the seventh straight month of job expansion, featuring a decline in the employment rate and an increase in wages.
But the Nasdaq Composite retreated Friday, with expensive tech stocks bearing the brunt of expectations that the Fed may start tapering asset purchases and move closer to rate hikes as the economy continues to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here's where US indexes stood at 9:30 a.m. on Friday:
- S&P 500: 4,436.73, up 0.17%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,213.92, up 0.43% (151.48 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 14,874.24, down 0.14%
"The payroll number has beaten the drum a bit harder again and we have a clear warning sign that excessively loose monetary policy is going to leave town soon," Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, in a note.
In July, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 943,000. That figure outstripped the 870,000 jobs expected in a Reuters survey of economists. The agency also upwardly revised June's jobs reading, by 88,000 to 938,000.
Also, July's unemployment rate fell to 5.4% from 5.9%, beating the 5.7% consensus estimate, and wages grew by more than anticipated, rising 11 cents to $30.54 and indicating businesses paid more to combat the labor shortage.
Around the markets, short-seller Jim Chanos blasted meme-stock traders as greedy and entitled.
Didi shares climbed on reports that the ride-hail firm is considering handing over control of its data to regulators to resolve a probe into the company following its US IPO.
Gold dropped further after the payrolls report, down 1.7%, to $1,774.79 per ounce. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year yield at 1.28%.
Oil prices rose. West Texas Intermediate crude picked up 1.1%, to $69.82 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, gained 1%, to $72.02 per barrel.
Bitcoin edged up to $40,875.14.