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.) * Private payrolls in the United States increased by 692,000 in June, according to ADP. * Boeing makes progress on new aircraft orders* Walmart reacts positively to the announcement that it will sell insulin analogs. * Indices: Dow is up 0.61 percent, S&P is up 0.13 percent, and Nasdaq is down 0.17 percent. (After the market closes, adds market facts and changes prices) Reuters, NEW YORK, June 30 – On Wednesday, the S&P 500 set a new closing high for the fifth consecutive day, as investors mostly ignored strong economic data and focused on Friday’s highly anticipated employment report. The indices remained lethargic and range-bound in the final session of 2021’s first half, with the blue-chip Dow reporting gains and the Nasdaq edging lower. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow all rose for the fifth straight quarter, with the S&P gaining 8.2 percent, the Nasdaq 9.5 percent, and the Dow gaining 4.6 percent. With a gain of 14.5 percent, the S&P 500 had its second-best first-half performance since 1998. Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut, stated, “It’s been a good quarter.” “The S&P 500 had up more than 14% year to date as of last night’s close, outperforming the Dow and Nasdaq. This signifies that the stock market is in the midst of a broad uptrend.” The bellwether S&P 500 gained for the fifth month in a row, while the Dow lost its four-month winning streak and ended the month marginally lower. In June, the Nasdaq gained ground as well. Investors’ interest for growth stocks has switched away from economically fragile cyclicals this month. “Year-to-date, the leading sectors are what you’d expect,” Pavlik remarked. “Energy, financials, and industrials, all of which point to an economy in the early stages of a cycle.” “After people started to buy in to (Fed Chair Jerome) Powell’s comments that focus on transitory inflation,” Pavlik noted, “investors started to switch back to growth (stocks).” “Some of the reopening trades are becoming a little old, and that’s causing people to return to growth.” “The general stock market has been on a tear for quite some time, with extremely continuous increases,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York. “While valuations have been high by historical standards, they have remained relatively stable, benefiting from the economic recovery.” According to payroll processor ADP, the private sector added 692,000 jobs in June, above estimates. The figure is 92,000 higher than economists expect from the Labor Department’s more detailed employment report, which will be released on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 210.22 points, or 0.61 percent, to 34,502.51, the S&P 500 increased by 5.7 points, or 0.13 percent, to 4,297.5, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 24.38 points, or 0.17 percent, to 14,503.95. Six of the S&P’s 11 major sectors ended the session higher, with energy posting the largest percentage increase. The greatest loser of the day was real estate. Following United Airlines’ announcement of its largest-ever purchase for new planes, Boeing gained 1.6 percent when Germany’s defense ministry stated it would acquire five of the planemaker’s P-8A maritime control aircraft. After announcing on Tuesday that it would begin selling a prescription-only insulin analog, Walmart’s stock surged 2.7 percent. Micron Technology rose 2.5 percent ahead of its quarterly earnings report, but remained flat in after-hours trade after the chipmaker’s results. On the NYSE, advancers outweighed decliners by a 1.35-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, decliners outnumbered advancers by a 1.19-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 made 20 new 52-week highs while the Nasdaq Composite made 70 new highs and 36 new lows. On U.S. exchanges, volume was 10.85 billion shares, compared to an average of 11.05 billion over the previous 20 trading days. Stephen Culp in New York contributed to this report. Devik Jain and Medha Singh in Bengaluru contributed additional reporting. Matthew Lewis edited the piece./n
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