U.S. Stocks May Edge Higher Following Monthly Jobs Report

Stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Friday, extending the advance seen over the past few sessions. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.1 percent.

The futures edged higher following the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly employment report for June.

While employment jumped by more than expected in June, the report also showed downward revisions to job growth in April and May as well as another unexpected uptick by the unemployment rate.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 206,000 jobs in June compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 190,000 jobs.

However, the report also showed the increases in employment in April and May were downwardly revised to 108,000 jobs and 218,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 111,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate also rose for the third straight month, inching up to 4.1 percent in June from 4.0 percent in May. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.

With the unexpected uptick, the unemployment rate reached its highest level since hitting a matching rate in November 2021.

Treasury yields have moved lower following the release of the report amid optimism the continued increase by the unemployment rate will convince the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates in the near future.

Nonetheless, overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued on the day, as some traders remain away from their desks following the Independence Day holiday on Thursday.

After moving mostly higher to start the week, stocks saw further upside over the course of the trading session on Wednesday. With the continued upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 once again reached new record closing highs in an abbreviated trading session.

The Nasdaq advanced 159.54 points or 0.9 percent to 18,188.30 and the S&P 500 climbed 28.01 points or 0.5 percent, although the narrower Dow bucked the uptrend and edged down 23.85 points or 0.1 percent to 39,308.00.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index closed just below the unchanged line, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.3 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has advanced by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are inching up $0.09 to $83.97 a barrel after jumping $1.07 to $83.88 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after surging $36 to $2,369.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $9 to $2,378.40 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 160.86 yen versus the 161.28 yen it fetched on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0825 compared to yesterday’s $1.0812.