LIVE MARKETS-U.S. stocks cheer jobs data; Dow poised to join new highs' party?

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U.S. STOCKS CHEER JOBS DATA; DOW POISED TO JOIN NEW HIGHS' PARTY?

The S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq composite .IXIC ended at fresh record highs on Thursday after a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report.

Data showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 147,000 jobs last month after an upwardly revised 144,000 advance in May, while economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising 110,000. Unemployment fell to 4.1% last month, against expectations of a rise to 4.3%.

Traders quickly priced out chances of an interest-rate cut in July, with the odds of a 25-basis-point reduction in September at 68%, according to CME Group's Fedwatch tool, down from 74% a week ago.

With this, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield US10YT=RR, at around 4.35%, is on pace to end three straight weeks of declines.

Besides the SPX and IXIC, a number other indexes scored fresh record highs including the Nasdaq 100 .NDX and NYSE composite .NYA. In terms of S&P 500 sectors, industrials .SPLRCI, tech .SPLRCT, and financials .SPSY also notched record closes.

The S&P 500 banks index .SPXBK also posted a record closing finish.

Meanwhile, the Dow .DJI rose, putting it within striking distance of its December 4, 2024 record close. It finished Thursday down just 0.41% from that level.

Here is a snapshot of where markets stood just shortly after the 1 p.m. EDT close, ahead of the July 4 holiday when U.S. markets will be shuttered:

(Terence Gabriel)

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