On Wednesday, July 2, U.S. markets closed mixed. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached record highs, buoyed by tech sector gains and a trade agreement between the U.S. and Vietnam that eased tariff concerns.
The Dow edged slightly lower. Nasdaq’s strength was led by Nvidia, Apple, and Tesla. Investors are now focused on Thursday’s non-farm payrolls report for signs of potential Fed rate cuts amid weak private payroll data and Centene’s withdrawn 2025 earnings forecast.
In economic data, U.S. private employers cut 33,000 jobs in June, the first drop since March 2023, raising expectations of a Fed rate cut. Economists now see Friday’s jobs report showing a slowdown to 110,000 gains. Markets have priced in a September cut and see a 25% chance of one in July, with a second cut expected by year-end.
Most S&P 500 sectors rose Wednesday, led by materials, tech, and energy, while health care and utilities declined.
The Dow fell 0.02% to 44,484.42, the S&P 500 was up 0.47% at 6,227.42, and the Nasdaq gained 0.94% to 20,393.13.
Asia Markets Today
On Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.16% lower at 39,699.50, led by losses in the Paper & Pulp, Transport, and Communication sectors.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.02% at 8,595.80, led by losses in the Telecoms Services, Financials, and Consumer Discretionary sectors.
India’s Nifty 50 was down 0.17% at 25,410.70, and the Nifty 500 fell 0.08% to 23,529.35.
China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.18% at 3,461.15, and Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 0.62% to 3,968.07.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed the session at 24,069.94, lower by 0.63%
Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET
The European STOXX 50 index was down 0.26%.
Germany’s DAX index gained 0.01%.
France’s CAC 40 slid 0.15%.
U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.34%.
Commodities at 05:45 AM ET
Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 1.08% at $66.72/bbl, and Brent was down 1.06% at $68.38/bbl.
Oil prices fell as traders weighed potential U.S. tariff hikes, a likely OPEC+ output increase, weak Chinese demand, rising U.S. crude inventories, and pre-holiday caution ahead of key economic data.
Natural gas rose 1.01% to $3.523.
Gold traded lower by 0.11% to $3,355.92, Silver rose 0.72% to $37.005, and Copper gained 0.28% to $5.1640.
U.S. Futures
At 05:45 AM ET, the Dow Jones futures rose 0.04%, the S&P 500 gained 0.04%, and the Nasdaq 100 was up 0.07%.
Forex
At 05:45 AM ET, the U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.06% to 96.83, USD/JPY was up 0.13% to 143.86, and USD/AUD rose 0.13% to 1.5209.
The U.S. dollar remained near 3.5-year lows on Thursday ahead of key jobs data and amid optimism over a U.S.-Vietnam trade deal. Rate cut expectations and fiscal concerns kept pressure on the greenback.
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