Dow Industrials on Pace to Notch Record High
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose a fourth straight session, pushing the blue-chip index above its record closing level in intraday trading Wednesday.
The Dow industrials gained 92 points, or 0.3%, ahead of its early close Wednesday before Thursday’s Independence Day holiday. The index surpassed its Oct. 3 milestone soon after the opening bell and would be the last of the major U.S. benchmarks to hit a record this year. Shares of UnitedHealth Group UNH +0.67% and Home Depot led the 30-stock index higher, as investors continued their steady buying of stocks this week.
Indexes have been climbing, albeit slowly, since last weekend’s truce between the U.S. and China eased investors’ fears of an all-out trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. But the cease-fire only put additional tariffs on hold indefinitely, leaving investors concerned that lingering frictions could give way to another flare-up in trade tensions and market volatility.
Eyes now turn to the Federal Reserve and whether it will cut interest rates this year—a move that would support further stock gains, analysts said.
Job creation has another rough month in June as private payrolls rise by just 102,000
- Private payrolls rose 102,000 in June, missing Wall Street expectations of 135,000, according to a report Wednesday from ADP and Moody’s Analytics.
- The number sets the stage for another possible disappointment from Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report, which is expected to show growth of 165,000 after May’s lackluster 75,000.
- Small businesses lost 23,000 for the month as construction and mining suffered drops.
Job creation looks to have had another rough month in June, with private companies adding just 102,000 new positions, according to a report Wednesday from ADP and Moody’s Analytics.
That missed even the meager 135,000 estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones and comes off the weak May growth of just 41,000. The May number was revised up from an initially reported 27,000.
The disappointment sets the stage for another possible letdown from the more widely watched nonfarm payrolls report from the Labor Department, which will be released Friday and is expected to show growth of 165,000 after May’s lackluster 75,000.
“The economy’s growth rate is significantly slowing, and I think the risks are rising that it’s going to stall out,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told CNBC. “I think the economy is on the razor’s edge, and this number is consistent with that view.”
Economic data overall has been wobbly lately as economists see growth slowing in 2019 and a possible recession ahead in 2020.
U.S. trade deficit surges to five-month high as imports soar
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. trade deficit jumped to a five-month high in May as imports of goods increased, likely as businesses restocked ahead of an increase in tariffs on Chinese merchandise, eclipsing a broad rise in exports.