Wall Street Flat As Investor Ponder Jobs Data

Wall Street ended little changed on Friday after a volatile session in which investors tried to comprehend how a robust jobs report would influence the US Federal Reserve and its plans to aggressively hike interest rates.

Despite the bumpy nature of the day though, the Nasdaq posted its fifth straight gain – its longest winning streak since the beginning of November – and all three benchmarks finished solidly up for the week shortened by the Independence Day holiday.

The Labour Department's closely awaited data showed nonfarm payrolls rose by 372,000 jobs in June, higher than the estimated rise of 268,000 jobs, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

The report also showed the jobless rate remained near pre-pandemic lows at 3.6 percent and average hourly earnings rose 0.3 percent, after gaining 0.4 percent in May.

After a brutal first half of the year, US stock markets started July on a solid footing as investors took relief from easing commodity prices and the Fed hinting at a more tempered programme of rate hikes amid concerns of a recession.

"We think the market has right-sized itself, somewhat, and will continue to adjust around the edges as we see macro data and as we work our way through earnings season," said Mike Loukas, chief executive of TrueMark Investments.

"Now it's a matter of people trying to figure out where the entry point is, and where the bottom is or if we are close to it."

With the earnings season around the corner, investors will focus on company forecasts as well as key inflation data expected next week to gauge the health of the economy.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.15 percent, to 31,338, the S&P 500 lost 0.08 percent, to 3,899 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.12 percent, to 11,635.

For the week, the Nasdaq gained 4.5 percent, while the S&P and Dow advanced 1.9 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. (Reuters)