Stocks closed at fresh records on Thursday after the release of June’s jobs report, which showed that unemployment eased to 4.1%.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up about 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) advanced 1%, pushing both to record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained nearly 0.8%, or roughly 300 points.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report released on Thursday morning, the US economy added 147,000 nonfarm payrolls in June, more than the 106,000 expected by economists.
However, analysts pointed out that much of the job growth lies in the public sector. Still, Wall Street expects the latest jobs print will be unlikely to sway the Fed to cut rates in July. Expectations have now shifted overwhelmingly to a decrease in September.
Brian Rose, senior US economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, noted “the weakness in private payrolls, the participation rate, earnings, and sentiment surveys suggest that labor demand is deteriorating.”
“We therefore maintain our base case scenario of 100bps in rate cuts starting in September,” he wrote in a client note.
The stock market closed early on Thursday in observance of the Fourth of July holiday. The major averages will reopen on Monday.