LIVE MARKETS-With a tip of the hat to big tech, S&P 500, Nasdaq snap back

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WITH A TIP OF THE HAT TO BIG TECH, S&P 500, NASDAQ SNAP BACK

The S&P 500 .SPX and Nasdaq .IXIC ended at record closing highs on Wednesday, lifted by gains in tech and news of a trade agreement between the U.S. and Vietnam.

Markets opened lower after data showed U.S. private payrolls fell unexpectedly in June and job gains in the prior month were smaller than initially thought, fueling increased bets of interest-rate cuts as soon as July.

Energy .SPNY led S&P 500 sector gainers as crude futures CLc1 jumped as Iran suspended cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, but a surprise build in U.S. crude supplies limited price gains somewhat.

Nevertheless, growth .IGX outperformed value .IVX as chip stocks .SOX, up about 1.9%, and the Magnificent 7 group MAGS.K, up about 1.5%, led by Tesla TSLA.O, were also among outperformers. Both the tech sector .SPLRCT and the industrial sector .SPLRCI notched record closes.

Regional banks .KRX were also strong, and big banks .SPXBK scored a record close.

The focus now turns to the June non-farm payroll report on Thursday - set to be released a day earlier than usual, with markets closed on July 4 for Independence Day.

Expectations call for a headline jobs number of 110k vs 139k last month. The unemployment rate is expected at 4.3% vs 4.2% last month.

Here is a snapshot of where markets stood just shortly after 4:00 p.m EDT:

(Terence Gabriel)

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