US open: Traders unfazed by weak jobs report, push stocks higher
US stocks notched fresh record highs at the end of the week, with technology issues again spearheading the charge, despite the release of a weaker than expected jobs report for the month of May.
At 1527 BST the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.06% higher to 21,156.60, as the S&P 500 gained 0.05% to 2,431.27 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.37% to 6,270.46.
In parallel, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury was down by five basis points - its lowest level since November - to 2.16%, with the US dollar spot index off by 0.38% to 96.83.
American firms took on 138,000 new hires last month (consensus: 185,000) and 66,000 less than previously thought over the prior two months combined, according to the Department of Labor.
Unemployment on the other hand continued to slip lower, falling from 4.4% to 4.3%, in part as the labour force participation rate decreased.
Economists were nevertheless sanguine for the most part.
For their part, Michael Levy and Roiana Reid at Berenberg Capital Markets said: "the disappointing increase in jobs in May is a realignment between output and payroll growth, and was well overdue. The economy is on the right track with businesses optimism pointing toward continued growth in employment and expansion."
However, the pair also said that the US Federal would likely "think twice" about hiking interest rates again in September, following an expected increase in June, if the slowdown in core consumer price inflation proved more than transitory.
Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macroeconomics chipped in commenting that: "payrolls tend substantially to undershoot consensus substantially when the survey is conducted early in the month. [...] We can't know for sure if this explains the soft reading today, but it certainly would help explain the huge discrepancy between the published number and the strength of most survey data."
From a sector standpoint, the best performance was being seen in the following industrial groups: Gambling (3.64%), Forestry&Paper (2.74%) and Brewers (1.90%).
Shares in Hovnanian Enterprises skidded 7% lower despite reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings per share and revenues.
Lululemon Athletica on the other hand was sharply higher, having posted adjusted first quarter earnings per share of 32 cents (consensus: 28 cents) on sales of $520.3m (consensus: $514.0m).
Dow Jones - Risers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $70.84 1.06%
Boeing Co. (BA) $189.18 0.99%
3M Co. (MMM) $205.90 0.76%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $46.78 0.58%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $129.38 0.47%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $106.09 0.42%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $153.01 0.41%
Visa Inc. (V) $95.77 0.39%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $122.24 0.37%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.25 0.36%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $102.90 -1.31%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $82.06 -1.21%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $79.99 -0.89%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $213.92 -0.51%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $79.57 -0.31%
American Express Co. (AXP) $78.05 -0.29%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $179.08 -0.28%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $152.32 -0.23%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $32.65 -0.18%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $31.77 -0.16%
S&P 500 - Risers
Broadcom Limited (AVGO) $251.39 7.16%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $50.90 2.11%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $475.39 2.01%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $20.11 1.98%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $44.47 1.97%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $1.33 1.92%
Realty Income Corp. (O) $56.57 1.85%
FedEx Corp. (FDX) $201.74 1.70%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $49.87 1.67%
Equity Residential (EQR) $65.95 1.57%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $5.71 -5.46%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $18.87 -3.67%
TEGNA Inc (TGNA) $14.80 -3.62%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $99.91 -3.33%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $8.93 -3.25%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $22.40 -3.22%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $11.49 -3.20%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $26.19 -3.11%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $33.24 -3.01%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $12.71 -2.98%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Broadcom Limited (AVGO) $251.39 7.16%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $475.39 2.01%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $44.47 1.97%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $49.87 1.67%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $113.23 1.47%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $158.35 1.35%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $128.72 1.23%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $350.32 1.13%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $101.70 1.11%
Liberty Interactive Corporation - Series A Liberty Ventures (LVNTA) $55.42 1.06%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $99.91 -3.33%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $55.06 -1.87%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $58.69 -1.64%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $81.08 -1.37%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $30.05 -0.96%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $63.17 -0.81%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $145.66 -0.77%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $66.90 -0.72%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $39.32 -0.61%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $81.01 -0.58%