Fourth of July Week Sees Broad Market Gains, Bond Yields Rise

Stocks advanced notably during the Fourth of July holiday-shortened week. Both the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ recorded record highs as investors were encouraged by a better-than-expected labor report. Tech stocks and AI-driven companies moved higher following the White House’s decision to lift export restrictions on chip-design software to China. All 11 market sectors gained last week, led by Materials, Financials, Industrials and Consumer Discretionary. The favorable jobs report also helped drive bond yields higher, with 10-year Treasury yields climbing 6.0 basis points.

June Jobs Beat Expectations Gain, Unemployment Rate Dips 

Employment grew by 147,000 in June, which exceeded expectations but was in line with the average monthly gain of 146,000 over the prior 12 months. Job gains occurred in state government and health care. The federal government continued to lose jobs. Employment in April and May was revised up by 16,000 combined. The unemployment rate ticked down 0.1 percentage point to 4.1%. The total number of unemployed fell by 222,000 to 7.0 million. In June, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 190,000 to 1.6 million, largely offsetting a decrease in the prior month. The long-term unemployed accounted for 23.3% of all unemployed people.

Eye on the Week Ahead

Next week is very light on economic reports, with only the release of the Treasury budget statement for June.