The Week In Review

7/2/21

The major averages rose on Friday with the S&P 500 hitting another record high after the June jobs report showing an accelerating recovery for the U.S. labor market.

The broad market index rose 32 points or 0.75%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 116 points or 0.8% to notch its own record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 152 points. The S&P 500 has now risen for seven consecutive sessions, its longest winning streak since August.

Solid moves by major tech stocks helped support the overall market on Friday, with shares of Apple and Salesforce rising by nearly 2% and 1.3%, respectively.

For the week, the Nasdaq Composite rose 2%, while the S&P 500 and Dow climbed 1.7% and 1.1%, respectively.

The economy added 850,000 jobs last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting an addition of 706,000. The print topped the 559,000 jobs created in May.

In addition to the job gains, average hourly wages rose 0.3% for the month and are up 3.6% year over year, matching expectations.

Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius said that the report eased concerns about a labor shortage.

"I think we also learned that the explanations for the weaker numbers from April and May -- namely that seasonal probably weighing on job growth and probably some impact from the unemployment benefits on labor supply -- that those were pretty good explanations. So I think it was reassuring, in that sense," Hatzius said, adding that the unemployment rate coming in higher than expected showed that the recovery still had a long way to go.

On Friday, shares of Boeing fell 1%, weighing on the Dow, after a 737 cargo plane made an emergency landing off the coast of Honolulu. IBM's stock fell 5% after the company announced that president and former Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst was stepping down.

Even with the recent strength for stocks, market strategists say that uncertainty about the Fed and the upcoming earnings season could keep stocks from making major gains in the near term.

The U.S. markets will be closed on Monday for the July 4 holiday.

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