US open: Stocks higher following better-than-expected NFP data

(Sharecast News) - Major indices traded higher early on Thursday as market participants digested last month's all-important non-farm payrolls report. As of 1455 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.52% at 44,717.85, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.55% to 6,261.71 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.62% firmer at 20,520.17.

The Dow opened 233.43 points higher on Thursday, easily reversing modest losses recorded in the previous session.

Today's primary focus was set to be June's nonfarm payrolls report, which revealed non-farm payrolls rose by 147,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, following May's upwardly revised 144,00 print and well ahead of forecasts of 110,000. June's reading was also in line with the average monthly gain of 146,000 over the last 12 months and continued to point to a fundamentally resilient labour market. Also of note, the unemployment rate also fell, dropping by 0.1% to 4.1%, better than the 0.1% increase to 4.3% that economists had predicted.

Donald Trump's megabill will also be in focus on Thursday after finally passing the Senate on Tuesday and returning to the House for a final vote.

Elsewhere on the macro front, jobless claims fell by 4,000 in the week ended 28 June, according to the Labor Department, hitting 233,000, better than market expectations for a smaller decline to 240,000. Continuing claims were flat at 1.96m, their highest level since late 2021, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, fell by 3,750 to 241,500.

On another note, America's trade shortfall widened to $71.5bn in May, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, as exports fell 4% from a record high of $290.5bn to $279.0bn and imports decreased 0.1% to a seven-month low of $350.5bn.

Still to come, the Institute for Supply Managment's June services PMI and May factory orders numbers will be published at 1500 BST.

Trading will come to a halt at 1800 BST on Thursday and will remain closed on Friday in observance of the Independence Day holiday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $296.92 2.14% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $212.20 1.61% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $495.05 1.19% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $147.60 0.00% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $294.28 0.00% Boeing Co. (BA) $213.07 0.00% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $272.59 0.00% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $259.62 0.00% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $715.34 0.00% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $97.84 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.16 -2.27% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $68.57 -0.31% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $11.46 -0.22% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $147.60 0.00% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $294.28 0.00% Boeing Co. (BA) $213.07 0.00% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $272.59 0.00% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $259.62 0.00% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $715.34 0.00% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $97.84 0.00%

S&P 500 - Risers

TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $16.60 19.30% Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $26.18 6.36% Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $323.49 5.41% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $190.54 4.81% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $66.05 4.52% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $151.23 4.29% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $99.09 3.84% Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $538.00 3.83% Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $74.01 3.71% Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $101.51 3.54%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $301.92 -3.52% Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.16 -2.27% Cincinnati Financial Corp. (CINF) $146.21 -1.68% Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $131.47 -1.61% Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $379.77 -1.47% Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $156.34 -1.32% Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $62.83 -1.23% VeriSign Inc. (VRSN) $282.54 -1.08% Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $305.80 -0.96% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $172.51 -0.85%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $323.49 5.41% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $190.54 4.81% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $66.05 4.52% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $151.23 4.29% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $99.09 3.84% Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $538.00 3.83% Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $74.01 3.71% Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $2.98 3.65% Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $101.51 3.54% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $271.80 3.38%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $301.92 -3.52% Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.16 -2.27% Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $131.47 -1.61% Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $10.21 -1.54% Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $379.77 -1.47% Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $10.00 -1.38% Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $156.34 -1.32% Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $62.83 -1.23% Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $305.80 -0.96% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $172.51 -0.85%