Live Nasdaq Composite: Markets Target New Highs on Economic Hopes
Investing
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Stocks are rising on a stronger-than-anticipated jobs report for June.
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The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is eyeing a fresh all-time high.
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11:10 am
Bank of America analysts have reaffirmed their “buy” rating on Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) stock, pointing to the App Store results as a positive catalyst. Earlier this week, Jefferies analysts lifted their outlook on Apple shares to “hold” from “underperform.” Apple stock is up 0.78% today but is down 14% year-to-date.
9:58 am
With today’s strong jobs data, indicating a healthy economy, Wall Street analysts are predicting what to expect when Fed policymakers convene next. Here’s a roundup of some of the commentary:
BMO’s Ian Lyngen remarked, “Overall, it was a strong set of data that implies the Fed will remain on hold later this month, leaving rate cut expectations focused on the September FOMC meeting.”
Mutual of America Capital Management CEO Joe Gaffoglio wrote, “The June jobs report continues to demonstrate resilience across the labor market, even as certain sectors such as manufacturing continue to lag. The unemployment rate is holding steady at 4.1%, and real average hourly earnings for employees experienced its largest increase of the year.”
Goldman Sachs’ Head of Fixed Income Macro Strategies Simon Dangoor commented: “Today’s stronger jobs report confirms a still resilient U.S. labor market, defying, at least for now, the signs of weakness seen in some leading indicators. The FOMC’s conviction that it should hold its wait-and-see stance while it braces for an acceleration in inflation over the summer will only be strengthened. But we still see a path to a resumption of the Fed’s easing cycle later in the year should the summer acceleration in inflation prove more modest than expected.”
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
The markets are celebrating a stronger-than-expected jobs report for June, sending all three of the major stock market indices higher. The economy added 147,000 payrolls last month, far outpacing economist forecasts calling for a slowdown in hiring. Meanwhile, past data was revised upward, while the unemployment rate dropped from 4.2% to 4.1%, once again outshining most expectations.
The Nasdaq Composite is on pace for yet another record high, as is the broader S&P 500 market index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.28%. Most sectors of the economy are seeing green today, led by telecom, consumer discretionary and technology. Big Tech is driving much of the gains in the Nasdaq Composite today, including a 2% rise in Meta Technologies (Nasdaq: META) amid an analyst upgrade at Needham, which has assigned a “hold” rating on the stock, up from “underperform.” Elon Musk weighed in on X, asking in delight, “They had a “sell” rating on Zuck?”
Here’s a look at the performance as of morning trading:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: Up 149.16 (+0.34%)
Nasdaq Composite: Up 125.10 (+0.61%)
S&P 500: Up 29.48 (+0.48%)
Market Movers
Datadog (Nasdaq: DDOG), which is behind a cloud-based security platform, is advancing 9.1% today after being chosen as the latest addition to the S&P 500, replacing the outgoing Juniper Networks, which is being acquired by Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HPE). With the index inclusion, DDOG will gain exposure to more institutional and retail portfolios including through ETFs.
Synopsys (Nasdaq: SNPS) is gaining 4.4% after the U.S. withdrew U.S. “chip design software curbs on China,” per reports.
Tripadvisor (Nasdaq: TRIP) is soaring 11.5% today on the heels of an investment by activist investor Starboard, which after taking a 9% position in the stock called the shares undervalued.
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