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On June 28, 2021, a surveillance camera is spotted outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, United States. ANDREW KELLY/REUTERS Reuters, July 2 – After a better-than-expected monthly employment report, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were set to open at record highs on Friday, as companies raised wages and offered incentives to entice millions of unemployed Americans back into the workforce. Futures rose after the Labor Department’s carefully watched employment report revealed that nonfarm payrolls increased by 850,000 jobs in June, following a 583,000 increase in May. The unemployment rate increased to 5.9% in June, up from 5.8% in May. [nL2N2OD34J] “Improvement in the labor market overall… permits the market to continue in its current phase of slowly and gradually expanding, which is the optimum situation,” said Randy Frederick, Charles Schwab’s vice president of trading and derivatives. “The market doesn’t seem to know whether it wants good news, which may lead to rate hikes sooner, or negative news, which could lead to more liquidity and thus more inflation. So it’s a delicate balancing act.” In recent sessions, markets have been led by inflation and economic data, with investors concerned that a stronger-than-expected economic rebound and out-of-control inflation could compel the Federal Reserve to withdraw its assistance. Despite this, the S&P 500 began the second half of the year with its sixth consecutive all-time closing high in the previous session, fueled by a broad-based rise led by so-called “value” companies tied to the economy. The focus now switches to the second-quarter earnings season and the status of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure program, which might help the stock market maintain its upward trend. On Thursday, the Democratic-controlled United States House of Representatives passed a $715 billion surface transportation and water infrastructure bill, which Democrats regard as a first step toward sweeping infrastructure legislation that Congress intends to pass in September. find out more Markets will be looking for minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June policy meeting next week, which will provide more information on policymakers’ views on inflation, bond tapering, and interest rates at a time when easy monetary policy appears to be reaching an inflection point amid a booming US economy. Dow e-minis were up 91 points, or 0.26 percent, S&P 500 e-minis were up 12.75 points, or 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 80.25 points, or 0.55 percent, at 8:46 a.m. ET. Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) dipped 0.7 percent despite reporting record second-quarter vehicle deliveries that also topped Wall Street expectations. find out more The stock of Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE.N) soared 23% after the business announced that billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson would fly to the edge of space on the company’s test flight on July 11, beating out fellow aspiring billionaire astronaut Jeff Bezos. find out more Didi Global Inc (DIDI.N) fell 9% after China’s cyberspace administration announced that it would launch a new investigation into the Chinese ride-hailing giant to safeguard national security and the public interest. find out more Devik Jain contributed reporting from Bengaluru, and Maju Samuel edited the piece. The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles are our standards./nRead More

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