Read for 4 minutes (Click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window for a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK, and European financial markets.) (Market close updates) Reuters, NEW YORK, July 1 – On Thursday, the S&P 500 set a new all-time closing high, as the new quarter and the second half of the year began with positive economic data and a broad-based rise. Investors are now looking forward to Friday’s highly anticipated employment report. The bellwether index is on its longest winning streak since early February, and it was last August when it hit six consecutive all-time highs. “Historical evidence shows that if you have a successful first half of the year, the second half of the year usually goes even better,” said Ross Mayfield, an investment strategy analyst at Baird Private Wealth. The blue-chip Dow joined the S&P in the green, but the Nasdaq’s advance was offset by a drop in tech stocks, led by microchips. “Boring is beautiful for markets so far this year,” David Carter, chief investment officer at Lenox Wealth Advisors in New York, said. “Economic growth has been robust enough to keep prices stable, and several asset classes are trading at historically low volatility levels.” “It feels like investors departed about three months ago for the Fourth of July weekend.” A prevalent theme in the day’s economic data was the persistent worker scarcity, which was linked to government emergency unemployment benefits, a daycare shortfall, and lingering pandemic fears. According to the Labor Department, jobless claims have continued to decline, reaching their lowest level since the pandemic shutdown, while a research from Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that planned layoffs by US companies were down 88 percent from last year, reaching a 21-year low. According to the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) purchasing managers’ index (PMI), factory activity in the United States slowed marginally in June, with the employment component contracting for the first time since November. According to ISM, the prices paid index climbed to its highest level since 1979, driven higher by the present demand/supply imbalance. “Today’s employment and manufacturing figures bolstered the case for ongoing expansion, albeit at a slower pace,” Carter noted. The highly anticipated jobs report on Friday is likely to show 700,000 new jobs added and unemployment falling to 5.7 percent. A strong positive surprise could force the US Federal Reserve to rethink its plans to trim its bond purchases and raise key interest rates. “Excessively strong economic data might be harmful for markets if it causes the Fed to hike rates faster than expected,” Carter said. “Weak employment figures could be a good thing.” Following Friday’s jobs report, the second-quarter earnings season, which begins in a few weeks, will be the next potential driver for the stock market. Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 125.8 points, or 0.36 percent, to 34,628.31, the S&P 500 increased by 22.03 points, or 0.51 percent, to 4,319.53, and the Nasdaq Composite increased by 18.44 points, or 0.13 percent, to 14,522.39. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc’s stock fell after the company stated it would administer fewer COVID-19 vaccination doses in the fourth quarter. Didi Global Inc soared on its second day of trading as a publicly traded business in the United States. Following news that Texas Instruments will buy Micron’s Lehi, Utah, factory for $900 million, Micron Technology Inc lost ground. MGM Resorts International surged after Infinity World Development agreed to sell it the remaining 50% ownership in its joint venture, CityCenter Holdings LLC, for $2.125 billion. Stephen Culp in New York contributed to this report. Krystal Hu in New York and Devik Jain and Medha Singh in Bengaluru contributed to this story. Maju Samuel and Matthew Lewis edited the piece./n
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