Stock Market News Today, 7/3/24 – Indices Flat amid New Jobs Data – TipRanks.com

Last Updated: 10:35 AM EST

Stocks are little changed so far in today’s trading after a new round of jobs data. On Wednesday, Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) released its Nonfarm Employment Change report, which came in worse than expected. In June, nonfarm employment increased by 150,000, whereas expectations were for an increase of 163,000.

Furthermore, the Department of Labor released its Initial Jobless Claims report, which came in worse than expected. In the past week, 238,000 people filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. Expectations were for 234,000 individuals.

In addition, Continuing Jobless Claims, which measures the number of unemployed people who qualify for unemployment insurance, came in at 1.858 million. This was above the forecast of 1.84 million and higher than last week’s print of 1.832 million.

It’s worth noting that Continuing Jobless Claims have been on an overall uptrend since hitting record lows in September 2022, as the layoffs from large companies continue to impact the workforce.

First Published: 5:06 AM EST

U.S. futures were flat on Wednesday morning after the S&P 500 (SPX) and the Nasdaq Composite indices hit new record highs yesterday. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) and the S&P 500 were down by about 0.07% and 0.06%, respectively, at 4:07 a.m. EST, July 3, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was up 0.04%.

On Tuesday, the Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500, and the Dow Jones indices gained 0.84%, 0.62%, and 0.41%, respectively. Importantly, the SPX index closed above the 5,500 level for the first time. The upside was supported by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s positive comments about progress in controlling inflation. Moreover, the rally was fueled by gains in mega-cap tech stocks, such as Tesla (TSLA), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), and Alphabet (GOOGL).

In major news, Tesla gained 10.2% after Q2 delivery numbers came above Street’s estimates. Furthermore, Paramount Global (PARAA) was up 3.5% in the extended trading session on reports of a preliminary merger agreement with Skydance Media.

Moving to the economic data points set for release today, investors are looking forward to Manufacturing and Service Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reports. Further, Powell will make the minutes from the Fed’s June meeting public today. In addition, Initial Jobless Claims data for the week ended June 28 will be released. 

On the earnings front, alcohol beverage provider Constellation Brands (STZ) will announce results today.

Investors should note that the U.S. stock market will close early today at 1 p.m. EST. Also, it will remain closed on Thursday in observance of Independence Day.

Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield remained unchanged, floating near 4.44% at the time of writing. Also, the WTI crude oil futures are trending higher, hovering near $83.11 per barrel as of the last check.

Elsewhere, European markets opened higher today on renewed optimism about the Fed cutting interest rates this year.

Asia Pacific Markets Traded Mixed on Wednesday

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed today as investors evaluated several data points from the region, including business activity reports from China and Japan.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed higher by 1.24%. At the same time, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices were up 1.26% and 0.54%, respectively. However, China’s Shenzhen Component and Shanghai Composite indices traded lower by 0.59% and 0.49%, respectively.

Interested in more economic insights? Tune in to our LIVE webinar.

Disclosure