The stock market is hovering around its record highs in early trading on Wall Street, following a mixed jobs report that has raised expectations for potential interest rate cuts later in the year. The S&P 500 was up 0.2% on Friday, on track for its 17th winning week in the last 19. The Dow Jones was relatively unchanged, while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.3%. Treasury yields eased after the jobs report, with traders now betting that the Federal Reserve may start cutting interest rates in May or June.
Earlier today, markets on Wall Street opened slightly lower after another strong government jobs report, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates later this month. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.3% before the bell, while futures for the S&P 500 dipped around 0.2%.
U.S. employers added a robust 275,000 jobs in February, surpassing economists’ expectations of 200,000 jobs. The unemployment rate increased to 3.9%. Traders are hopeful that this strong report won’t deter the Federal Reserve from considering interest rate cuts.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently stated that the central bank is “not far” from delivering the cuts to interest rates that Wall Street is anticipating. He reiterated that the Fed is waiting for more data to confirm that inflation is cooling down. Traders now see June as the likeliest starting point for rate cuts, after earlier hopes for cuts in March were shelved. The Fed’s main interest rate is currently at its highest level since 2001.
Next week, the government will release two major inflation reports: one measuring consumer prices and another analyzing wholesale inflation.
In corporate news, Docusign saw a 9.2% jump after exceeding Wall Street’s fourth-quarter sales and profit expectations. Retailer The Gap climbed 9.1% after more than doubling analysts’ per-share profit targets. However, Costco slid 3.9% in premarket trading after its second-quarter sales fell short of projections.
In Europe, France’s CAC 40 was unchanged, Germany’s DAX dipped 0.2%, and Britain’s FTSE 100 shed nearly 0.6% at midday. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.2%, Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.1%, South Korea’s Kospi surged 1.2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.8%, and the Shanghai Composite was 0.6% higher.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell to $78.30 a barrel, while Brent crude lost to $82.38 a barrel. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 146.71 Japanese yen, its lowest level in over a month, and the euro cost $1.0931.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 1% to break last week’s record high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite also posted gains. The S&P is on track for another winning week, but the Dow is heading for its second consecutive down week.
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