A surge in the Nvidia share price and weak labour market data pushed the broad S&P 500 index to a new record close.
The S&P 500 rose 1.18 per cent to close at a new record 5,354.03. The tech heavy Nasdaq rallied 1.96 per cent to a new record close of 17,187.90. The Dow Jones closed 0.25 per cent higher.
AI giant Nvidia dominated the headlines as the stock surged 5 per cent to hit a new record close. The company also hit a $3 trillion market cap. Investors continued to chase the stock after the company unveiled its new line of chips earlier in the week. Tech giant Meta Platforms also contributed to the record close finishing 3.8 per cent higher for the day.
In other company news, Hewlett Packard traded up more than 10 per cent after reporting fiscal second-quarter revenue that beat consensus expectations. CrowdStrike jumped 12 per cent on stronger-than-expected earnings and guidance.
On the macro front, private payroll data showed hiring has slowed further with 152,000 jobs added last month versus expectations of 175,000 according to Dow Jones. Another data pointing to weakness in the labour market raised investor hopes further that the Federal Reserve is seeing enough evidence to cut benchmark interest rates. The yield on the US 10-year note fell back below 4.30 per cent.
Fed funds futures trading now suggests a roughly 70 per cent chance that central bank policymakers will ease back from the current target rate of 5.25 per cent-5.5 per cent in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Attention will now turn to weekly jobless claims numbers on Thursday and Friday’s all-important May jobs report. The May jobs report will be the most important data of the week for markets. The Dow Jones reported it is expecting 190,000 jobs to be added in May, up from 175,000 in April.
Turning to US sectors, Technology was the best performer closing up 2.68 per cent for the day. The worst performer was Utilities which closed 0.58 per cent lower.
The Bank of Canada added to the growing investor confidence that the Fed is getting close to a cutting cycle after it announced its first rate cut since 2020 as Canadian officials look increasingly confident they have control of inflation. Officials say they’re more confident that inflation is headed to the 2 per cent target, and said it’s “reasonable to expect further cuts,” if progress continues.
Futures
The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.5 per cent gain.
Currency
One Australian dollar at 7.20am was buying 66.48 US cents.
Commodities
Gold has added 1.20 per cent. Silver has gained 1.54 per cent. Copper has risen 1.52 per cent. Oil has gained 1.12 per cent.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE added 0.18 per cent, Frankfurt gained 0.93 per cent, and Paris closed 0.87 per cent higher.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.89 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.10 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.83 per cent lower.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.41 per cent higher at 7,769.
Dividends payable
United Overseas Australia (ASX:UOS)
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
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