US Stock Market: Today’s update on S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100

financialexpress.com:

US stocks slipped after hiring data remained high enough to quash speculation the Federal Reserve would leave interest rates unchanged later this month.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 are on track to end the week lower after data showed a still-resilient labor market, but one that was less robust than implied by Thursday’s private payrolls report. Tempering any advance in risk assets was faster-than-forecast growth in wages, suggesting inflation remains elevated. The two-year yield slumped to 4.90%.

Stocks on the move intraday included Levi Strauss & Co., which fell sharply after lowering its outlook for the year, and electric-vehicle manufacturer Rivian Automotive Inc., which climbed for the eighth-straight session.

The payroll numbers are not yet weak enough, according to Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.

“Jobs growth has slowed but remains too strong to justify an extended Fed pause,” she said. “More significantly, with average hourly earnings surprising to the upside, wage pressures are still too strong. Today’s report will give the Fed little reason to hold off from hiking at the July meeting.”

June’s 0.4% wage growth indicates businesses are still desperate to draw in and keep workers, according to Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial.

“The latest jobs report all but ensures the Fed will increase rates later this month,” he wrote.

A gauge of the dollar tumbled while gold advanced.

Traders added to wagers of more rate hikes after ADP Research Institute data on Thursday showed US companies added the most jobs in more than a year in June.

Stocks have been losing ground in July after a strong first half of the year as hawkishness from central banks from the US to the UK damps